
Chs,^ FlC2^h^ 



Book. 



J-'-T y 



~^\j 



Copyright N^_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



MEXICAN TOPICS 



PREPARED FOR 



THE NEW STUDENT'S REFERENCE WORK 



JUAN HUMBERTO CORNYN, B.A., LL.B., B.E. 

DIRECTOR COLEGIO PAN-AMERICANO, MEXICO CITY 



CHICAGO 

F. E. COMPTON AND COMPANY 
1910 






COPYRIGHT, 1910 
By chandler B. BEACH 



g:CI.A256796 



PRESIDENT DIAZ AND HIS CABIXET 




JuRTiNO Fernandez 

Minister of Justice 

Jose Ives Limantour 

Minister of Finance 

Olegario Molina 

Minister of Fomento (Encour- 

aKenient) 



Ramon Corral 
Minister of Interior and Vice- 
President 
PORFIRIO DIAZ 

President 

Ignacio Marincal 

Minister of Foreign Relations 



ir 1 

Leandro Fernandez 
Minister of Public Works 

JusTO Sierra 
Minister of Public Instruction 

Manuel Gonzalez Cosio 
Minister of War and Marine 



MEXICAN TOPICS 



ACADEMY— ACUNA 



Academy, San Carlos, the National 
School of Fine Arts of Mexico, first estab- 
lished in the Mint Building, in Mexico City, 
by order of Charles III of Spain in 1778. 
At first it was only a school of engineering; 
but, three years later, classes in painting, 
sculpture and architecture were added. In 
1785, the "Academy of Noble Arts of San 
Carlos of New Spain" was opened; and six 
years later the school was removed to its 
present quarters. Owing to political 
troubles the academy was several times 
temporarily closed, but it never really ceased 
to exist. It is now in a flourishing condi- 
tion, is one of the most popular educational 
institutions of the Capital and receives 
much attention from the Mexican govern- 
ment. 

Academy, National Military, The, 
occupies a part of Chapultepec Castle, the 
official residence of the president of the 
republic. From 300 to 400 students are in 
attendance each year. It is the chief train- 
ing school for the army and it furnishes an 
excellent engineering course. The instruc- 
tion is much similar to that of West Point. 
(See Chapultepec). 

Acamapitzin, {a-kdni' d-pet' sen) (Prince of 
the Reeds), the first king of the Mexicans 
(1352-89), was prudent, wise and brave and 
especially fitted to govern his people during 
their early days of struggle. His long reign 
of 37 years is noted for .the advancement 
made by the Mexicans. So noted was this 
advancement that Acamapitzin has been 
called the Alfred the Great of Mexican his- 
tory. When he came to the throne the 
Aztecs were practically confined to the city 
of Mexico (Tenochtitlan) ; it was tributary 
to the Tepanecas; but notwithstanding the 
heavy tribute exacted by the latter, the city 
of Tenochtitlan grew steadily during this 
reign;, stone buildings were erected, canals 
built and a trade with the neighboring tribes 
established. So fair and just was the govern- 
ment that many people from other tribes 



cast in their lot with the Mexicans; this was 
the beginning of that rapid growth and 
progress which soon made the Aztecs the 
ruling power in the lands between the Gulf 
of Mexico and the Pacific. 

Acambaro (d-kdin'bd-rd) , a town in the 
state of Guanajuato, Mexico, situated at the 
junction of two important lines of the 
National Railways of Mexico, about 180 
miles from the City of Mexico, and lies in 
the Lerma Valley, one of the most fertile 
spots in the state. It was founded in 1526, 
four years after the Spanish conquest, and 
was for many years a very important mid- 
way place on the old highway between the 
Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific. As it is on 
the main highway to the capital, it has 
often, especially during the revolutionary 
period in Mexican history, been the theatre 
of many stormy events. Population 15,000. 

Acapulco. See page 12 14. 

Acevedo, Caspar de Zuniga y. See 

ZUNIGA. 

Acuna (d-kodn'yd), Juan de, Marquis of 
Casafuerte, a native of Lima, 36th viceroy 
of New Spain (1722-34) and General of 
Artillery, was, according to a chronicler of 
the times, "Adorned with all the civic and 
private virtues, skilled in the science of 
government, a tireless reformer of abuses 
and ever active in legislating for the interest 
and welfare of the people of New Spain." 
Having so many civic virtues he was nat- 
urally popular with the law-abiding portion 
of the inhabitants of the province; and he 
was sincerely mourned when he died in 
office. During his administration mining 
began to develop rapidly and commerce 
with Spain and the Phillipines was very 
greatly increased. As an indication of the 
activity of the tiijies it is interesting to note 
that $10,000,000 were coined at the Mexico 
City mint in 1733. 

AcuiTa {d-kddn'yd), Manuel '(i849--i 873), 
one of the greatest of Mexican poets, who 
died at the early age of 24, leaving behind 



2245 



AGUASCALIENTES 



2246 



ALHONDIGA 



him an imperishable name and a host of 
imitators, whose name has become legion 
since his death. He is one of the most vivid 
word painters in the Spanish language, his 
meter and melody are unsurpassed and he 
exhibits strong dramatic force. But great 
genius is often to madness closely allied 
This seems to have been the case with 
Acuna, who took his own life in a fit of 
despondency over a love affair. Though he 
wrote a very promising drama, his works 
are principally lyrical. 

Aguascalientes {d'gwds-kd'le-dn'tds), the 
capital of the state of the same name, is so 
called "Hot Waters," on account of the 
many springs of wann water in the neigh- 
borhood. It is situated on the Mexican 
division of the National Lines of Mexico, 
165 miles north of Mexico City, in a valley 
some 6,000 feet above sea level. The city, 
which was founded in 1575, has seen many 
stirring times, especially during the war of 
independence, when it was more than once 
the theatre of war. It was made the cap- 
ital of the new state of Aguascalientes in 
1835. It contains excellent public build- 
ings, good schools and colleges and a noted 
Scientific Institute, and its cathedral is one 
of the celebrated church buildings of Mex- 
ico. Population 20,000. 

Aguascalientes (d'givds-kd'le-dn'ids) , 

(Hot Waters), a state and capital of the 
same name situated on the upland plateau 
of Mexico, between the states of Zacatecas 
and Jalisco. It has an area of 2,976 square 
niiles and a population of 120,000. The 
principal industries of the state are mining 
and agriculture. Although the mountains 
of the state are rich in minerals these have 
been but partially exploited, so that its 
yearly mineral output generally falls below 
half a million dollars; while its agricultural 
products are v.^orth three times that of its 
mines. Among the chief agricultural prod- 
ucts of the state are : chili (native red 
pepper) , frijoles (native brown and black 
beans), wheat and corn, the value of the 
latter being twice that of the combined 
value of all the other agricultural products 
of the state. 

Agustin, Cebrian y. See Cebrian y 
Agustin 

Ahuizotl {d'we-so'tl), (the Water Rat), 
emperor of Mexico (1486-1502), was a great 
conqueror and he carried the Mexican arms 
as far south as Guatemala. He completed 
the great temple or tocalli on the main 
plaza of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) and it 
is said that, by his order, 20,000 prisoners 
and slaves were delivered to the priests to 
be sacrificed at its dedication. The blood of 
the victims ran down the sides of the great 
pyramid upon which the teinple was sit- 
uated and formed streams in the streets. It 
was during this reign that America was dis- 
covered by Christopher Columbus. In 1499 
the city of Tenochtitlan was flooded for the 



second time. In trying to escape from his 
flooded palace Ahuizotl received injuries 
from which he subsequently died. 

Ahumada y Villalon {d'od-md'thd e veV- 
yd-lon'), Agustin, Marquis of Amarillas, 
41st viceroy of New Spain (1755-60), had 
gained renown in the wars in Italy before 
coming to Mexico. He is remembered as 
an excellent ruler who was zealous in the 
correction of public abuses. He died in 
Cuernavaca, Mexico, from a stroke of 
apoplexy. 

A j usee (d-hdds'ko), the highest mountain 
in the Federal District of Mexico. Although 
within the tropics, owing to. its altitude, 
13,612 feet, its summit is often covered with 
snow in winter. 

Alameda (d'ld-md'dd), (derived from 
alamo, the poplar tree), a name now gen- 
erally applied throughout Mexico to the 
principal public park of a city or town. Of 
these the most noted is the Alameda of 
Mexico City, which was set apart as a public 
park in 1592 by the viceroy, Luis de Velasco. 
Previous to this the ground occupied by the 
Alameda had been one of the inost noted of 
the great market places of the Aztecs. Upon 
the east side of this park was erected the 
Quemadero or stone platform upon which 
were burned the victims condemned by the 
Inquisition. The Alameda, which is 1483 
feet long by 712 feet wide, is covered with 
beautiful trees and traversed by shaded 
walks, and contains handsome fountains 
and statues. It is the favorite place of 
recreation of the people of Mexico City. On 
Sundays and feast days, when the best 
military bands of country play there, 
some of the principal walks are covered 
with awnings to protect the visitors from 
the tropical sun, and a continual stream of 
people pass and repass under these awnings 
from 1 1 :oo a. m. to i p. m. 

Alamo. See Alameda. 

Alba de Liste, Count of. See Enri- 
QUEZ DE Guzman, Luis. 

Alburquerque, Duke of. See Fernan- 
dez DE LA CUEVA, FrANCISCO. 

Aldama (dl-ddm'd), Ramon (1832-82), a 
Mexican prose writer and dramatist of note. 
He graduated in law, but made literature 
and journalism more of a profession, mixing 
up with them politics. His four successful 
dramas are: Honor and Happiness, A 
Pledge of Vengeance, Nobility of Heart and 
Head and Heart. 

Alencastre, Fernando. See Norona y 
Silva. 

Alhondiga {dl-on' de-gd') de Granaditas, 
the old commercial exchange built in 1785 
by the intendent, Juan Antonio Riano, near 
to the city of Guanajuato. It was captured 
by the revolutionary army under Hidalgo 
in 1810, after a desperate fight. The heads 
of Hidalgo and his chief officers, Jimenez, 
Aldama and AUende were fastened upon 
spikes on the walls of the Alhondiga in 1811. 



ALMANZA 



2247 



ARMENDARIS 



Almanza (dl-mdn' sd) , Martin Enriquez 

de, fourth viceroy of New Spain (1568-80), 
known as the "Inquisitor" because the 
Inquisition was introduced into Mexico dur- 
ing his administration. He drove the Eng- 
lish from the Island of Sacrifices, in the 
Gulf of Mexico, conquered the Chichimecas 
and divided their country into districts and 
began the work of draining the surplus 
waters of the lakes in the Valley of Mexico. 
During his administration the Jesuits estab- 
lished themselves in Mexico and a terrible 
plague broke out among the Indians from 
which over two millions died. This was 
followed by an inundation of the City of 
Mexico. Almanza also turned his atten- 
tion to regulating the employment of Indian 
labor in the mines of New Spain. The vice- 
roy went from Mexico to Peru where he 
also represented the king of Spain. 

Alpuche (dl-poo'chd), Wenceslao (1804- 
1841), one of the best of the Mexican poets 
of the first half of the 19th century in a 
restricted field, for his best poems are war 
songs and compositions in praise of the 
heroes of his native land. 

Altamirano (dl'td-me-rd'nd), Ignacio M. 
(1834-93), a pure native Indian, and one of 
the most vivid writers and greatest thinkers 
that Mexican literature has produced. He 
was a power in politics, in literature and in 
the social life of his day, and he became 
the leader of a school, with hundreds of 
imitators. He was lawyer, soldier, orator, 
diplomat, journalist, poet, essayist, philos- 
opher and one of the greatest champions of 
the liberal cause in Mexico. In addition to 
his poems (Rimas), his principal works are: 
The Literary Movement in Mexico; Baltasar; 
The Mexican Drama; Medea; Cletnencia (his 
best novel) ; Antonia and Beatrice; Louisa 
and Christinas in the Mountains. He is 
original in matter form of- versification and 
manner of expression, and his power of 
depicting local colors is especially strong. 
So strong was his influence over the writers 
of his day that he is credited with creating 
the moder^ renaissance period in Mexican 
literature. It is certain that his influence 
over the literature of his native country was 
great and ever exercised for good. 

Alvarado (dl'vd-rd'thd), Laguna de, an 
important deep-water lagoon on the south- 
eastern coast of the state of Veracruz, 
Mexico. It is formed by the wide mouth 
of the Papaloapam river, where it enters 
into the Gulf of Mexico. Even in pre- 
Columbian times it was noted for the com- 
merce that took place over its waters. It 
is still an important port for small vessels. 
In the 17th and i8th centuries it formed 
an excellent hiding place for the pirates and 
freebooters who frequented the Gulf of 
Mexico. 

Alvarado {dl'vd-rdHhd), Pedro de, a 
soldier of fortune who followed the banner 
of Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico. He was 



a man of huge stature and great strength 
and his name figures frequently in the 
legends and stories of Mexico, for he was 
the ideal of the reckless, daring soldier of 
fortune of those chivalrous days when Spain 
was at her height of military glory. 

Amarillas, Marquis of. See Ahumada 

Y ViLLALON. 

Amecameca {d-m.d'kd-m.d'ka) , a town in 
the state of Mexico, at the foot of Mount 
Popocatepetl, which was founded, years be- 
fore the Spanish conquest of Mexico, was 
the home of the principal branch of the 
Chichimeca people, who played such an im- 
portant part in the pre-conquest period of 
Mexican history. By them the city was 
called Amaquemecan. See Sacro Monte 
and also Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz. 

Anahuac (d-nd'wdk) (meaning near to 
the water), a name given in Aztec times to 
the country bordering upon Lake Texcoco, 
and afterwards extended to the whole 
Valley of Mexico, and, later on, by poetic 
license, to the vast empire ruled over by 
the Mexican confederacy. 

Angel de la Quardia (dn'hdl da Id gwdr'- 
the-d) , an island of considerable extent in 
the Gulf of Lower California, and lying close 
to the shore of the state of the same name, 
to which it belongs politically. A strong 
fortress was erected upon this island in pre- 
Columbian days and archaeological remains 
of interest are frequently encountered 
there. 

Angostura, Battle of. See Buenavista, 
Battle of. 

Apodaca (d'po-ddk'd) , Juan Ruiz de, 60th 
viceroy of New Spain (1816-21), ex-governor 
and captain general of Cuba, and lieutenant 
colonel of the Royal Armada, was attacked 
on the way to the Capital of Mexico to 
assume his office by the forces of the revo- 
lutionists under Vasquez; but the latter was 
defeated by the Marquis of Donallo, who 
had come from Mexico City to Puebla to 
receive Apodaca. The viceroy prosecuted 
the war against the revolutionists with 
vigor, and at first with success. One leader 
after another suffered defeat at the hands 
of the royalist generals. Teran and Guerrero 
were both defeated; Monte Blanco Fort, 
near Cordoba, Boquilla de Piedras, Janicho, 
Mescala, Cuiristaran, Coporo, Mixteca and 
La Mesa all fell into the hands of the roy- 
alists in rapid succession, and the cause of 
the revolution seemed lost, when Gen. 
Francisco Javier Mina, by gaining a number 
of important engagements, put life into the 
cause of independence. The Spanish cause 
grew weaker daily, the royalists accused 
Apodaca of incapacity, and the latter, in 
despair of ruling the now disrupted prov- 
ince, gave up the struggle in disgust and 
returned to Spain. 

Arion, Duke of. See Zuniga Guzman. 

Armendaris, Lope Diaz de. See Diaz 
DE Armendaris. 



ATZCAPOTZALCO 



2248 



BARCENA 



Atzcapotzalco (dts'cd-pd-sdl'ko) ,■ a town 
situated a short distance to the northwest 
of Mexico City In Aztec times it was the 
center of power of a Nahuatl people who 
held the Aztecs in subjection. The Mexicans 
and the Texcocans joined forces and sub- 
dued Atzcapotzalco and made it a part of 
the Mexican confederacy. It was noted for 
its skilled artisans, especially its workers in 
gold and silver. As the town was on the 
extreme border of Lake Texcoco, it became 
the slave market of Mexico. 

Azanza {d-thdn'ihd), Miguel Jose, 53rd 
viceroy of New Spain (1798-1800), was one 
of the few viceroys of New Spain who were 
not either priests or noblemen. He was a 
wise ruler, prudent and a clever statesman 
and had had considerable previous experi- 
ence which aided him much in the discharge 
of the duties of his office. He had been 
secretary to the famous visitor to New 
Spain, Galvez, was intendent of the army 
and had filled various important diplomatic 
commissions with credit to himself and 



honor to his country. He built eleven small 
war cruisers for the defense of the gulf 
coast and made preparation for the defense 
of Veracruz. During this administration 
manufactures greatly increased, especially 
in cotton, woolen and silk goods, and the 
war with England brought much money 
into New Spain, which increased the 
commerce of the country and improved 
greatly its business interests. In 1799 
the port of Acapulco was destroyed by a 
hurricane. 

Aztec Calendar Stone. See Calendar 
Stone. 

Aztlan (dst-ldn') (meaning place of 
water), the ancient home of the Aztecs, 
which, according to tradition, was situated 
somewhere to the north of Mexico City, 
very many days' journey. Some suppose it 
to have been in Colorado or New Mexico, 
and some maintain that the Aztecs were the 
original Mound Builders who, at one time, 
covered vast stretches of the Mississippi 
Valley. 



B 



Bajio {bd-he'd). The, a rich agricultural 
district extending almost from Leon to 
Queretaro, and lying principally within the 
boundaries of the state of Guanajuato. Its 
principal products are heavy crops of 
cereals; but it is capable of producing a 
large variety of products. 

Ball, Our Lady of the, a very small but 
greatly venerated image in the church of 
Jesus Nazareno, in Mexico City. The legend 
connected with this iinage is as follows: 
Early after the Spanish conquest, an Indian 
living in Ixtapalapa accused his wife of being 
unfaithful to him, and, in his anger, at- 
tempted to shoot her. The accused wife 
threw herself before the image of the virgin, 
to whom an altar had been erected in their 
house. The latter intercepted the ball, 
thus convincing the jealous husband that 
his suspicions were unjustifiable. As the 
fame of the image rapidly spread through- 
out the Valley of Mexico the ecclesiastical 
authorities took it and placed it in the 
Church of the Purisima, from whence it was 
afterguards removed to San Lazaro, where 
it remained for about two hundred years. 
By order of archbishop Labastida it was 
placed in the Jesus Nazareno church in 
1884. 

Banner of Independence, The, which 
bore upon it a picture of Our Lady of 



Guadalupe, was taken from the sanctuary of 
Jesus Nazareno de Atotonilco, by Miguel 
Hidalgo, the patriot priest of Dolores and 
the leader of the revolution against Spanish 
rule in Mexico, which broke out in 1810. 
See Guadalupe. 

Banner of the Conquest, The, which 
was carried by Hernan Cortes in his wars 
against Mexico, is now in the National 
Museum in Mexico City. A solemn annual 
ceremony known as the Procession of the 
Banner, was celebrated in the church of 
San Hipolito (which see) up to the year 
1 81 2. The archbishop of Mexico, the vice- 
roy, the nobles and the church and state 
authorities and dignitaries took part in this 
ceremony, which consisted of the carrying 
in state of the Banner of the Conquest. As 
it was a commemoration of Spanish suc- 
cesses in Mexico against the native races, 
there has been no desire to revive the cere- 
mony since the independence of the country 
was conceded in 1821. 

Bafios, Count of. See Leiva y de la 
CuERDA, Juan. 

Bar'cena (bdr'sd-nd), Jose Maria Roa 
(1827-1908), the one great writer which the 
imperialist party produced in Mexican lit- 
erature. He was poet, historian, journalist, 
critic and master of delightful prose, his 
shorter stories being among the best that 



BARRAGAN 



2249 



BUSTILLOS 




JOSE MARIA ROA 
BARCENA 



Mexico has produced. Numerous editions of 
his poems and shorter stories have been 
pubHshed both in 
Mexico and on the 
continent, and he has 
received unstinted 
praise from the best 
of Spanish critics. 
Translations of va- 
rious of his works' 
have been made into 
Italian, French and 
English. His stories 
are noted for their 
originality, dramatic 
force, humor and 
power of depicting 
character. Barcena 
possessed the power 
of careful investiga- 
tion, which is seldom 
met with in such a high degree of perfection 
in one who had so much of the poetic in his 
character. This is shown in his literary 
reviews, in his powerful newspaper articles 
on the questions of the day and in the work 
which, of all his literary productions, has 
most interest for Americans, Recollections of 
the North American Invasion, the name by 
which the Mexican War is known in 
Mexico. 

Barragan {ha-rd-gdn') , Gen. Miguel, 
acting president of Mexico and tool in the 
hands of General Santa Anna when the 
latter marched northward to subdue Texas 
in 1835. 

Bazaine (bd-zdn'), Francois Achille 
(1811-1888), went to Mexico with the expe- 
dition sent there by Napoleon III, which 
was under the command of General Forey. 
He took part in the principal engagements 
of note during the French occupation of 
Mexico. In 1863 he was made commander 
of the French forces in the Republic and the 
following year he was created a Marshal of 
France . He remained in Mexico until the 
downfall of the Maximilian empire. He 
acted with great harshness and his name is 
consequently detested in Mexico. In 1871 
he was tried, found guilty and sentenced to 
death for the surrender of Metz; but this 
sentence was commuted to imprisonment 
for 20 years on St. Marguerite Island. From 
here he escaped, through the help of his 
wife, a beautiful Mexican woman, who had 
been a great favorite of the Emperor Max- 
imilian; and together they lived in Spain 
till his death. 

Bells, Hill of the. See Cerro de las 
Campanas. 

Bobadilla y Cabrera. See Cabrera. 
Boot, Adrian, a Dutch engineer sent by 
the king of Spain to Mexico about the be- 
ginning of the 17th century to report upon 
the practicability of draining the Valley of 



Mexico, which was then subject to dan- 
gerous floods. His report and his presence 
in the country gave definite form -to a proj- 
ect, which it remained for the present gen- 
eration to accomplish. 

Branciforte, Marquis of. See Grua 
Talamanca. 

Bravo (brd'vd), Gen. Nicolas, a famous 
revolutionary leader who contributed much 
to the cause of Mexican independence. He 
was instrumental in establishing the Council 
of Notables which, on June 12, 1843, 
promulgated a new constitution for Mexico, 
the chief object of which was to centralize 
the powers of government in the hands of 
the federal authorities as much as possible. 
He was president of Mexico ad interim in 
1846. 

Brigantines {hre' gdn-te' nds) , flat boats 
constructed in Tlaxcala by order of Cortes, 
the conqueror of Mexico, and carried in sec- 
tions upon the backs of hundreds of Indians 
to Texcoco, where they were put together 
and launched upon the lake of the same 
name, and, later on, used effectively in the 
repeated attacks made upon Tenochtitlan 
(Mexico City) during the famous siege of 
1521. 

Bucareli y Ursula {hoo'kd-rd'le e 55r- 
soc'ld), Antonio Maria de, viceroy of New 
Spain (17 71-17 79), was one of the best 
rulers Spain gave to Mexico. He notably 
increased the trade of the country, by remov- 
ing various restrictions . upon foreign com- 
merce. He encouraged coinage, with the 
result that the coinage during his admin- 
istration in Mexico amounted to $127,396,- 
000, a vast sum for those days. He com- 
pleted, at his own cost, the Chapultepec 
aqueduct, thus bringing into the Capital a 
plentiful supply of pure water, which had 
been greatly needed. He extended his in- 
fluence to build up the military strength of 
New Spain, and many public buildings were 
erected through his encouragement during 
his administration. He was just, active and 
progressive and he is still remembered with 
affection in Mexico. 

Buenavista (bwd'nd-ves'td), Battle of 
(known to the Mexicans as Angostura), in 
which the Americans under General Taylor, 
defeated the Mexicans under Santa Anna 
in a bloody fight (Feb. 23, 1847). 

Bustillos (bdds-teVyos), Jose M. (1866- 
), a talented Mexican writer who has 
made a new field for himself in a quarter 
almost entirely neglected by other Mexican 
writers; for he sings the sorrows, the ambi- 
tions, the customs and the interests of the 
neglected lower classes in Mexico, which he 
makes more than interesting. His delib- 
erate aim has been to widen out the interests 
of the national literature of Mexico. Among 
his most noted collections of poems are El 
Tabare and The Rocks in the Lake. 



CABRERA 



2250 



CARMEX 



Cabrera y Bobaditia (kd-hrd'ra e bo'hd- 
del'yd), Diego Lopez Pacheco, Duke of 
Escalona and Marquis of Villena, viceroy of 
New Spain (1640-1), was a very unpopular 
ruler. He was opposed by the church fac- 
tion, and finally, through the influence of 
the Bishop of Puebla, who succeeded him, 
he was deposed and shipped back to New 
Spain. 

Cadereita, Marquis of. See Diaz de 
Armendaris. 

Cajigal de la Vega (ka'e-gdl da Id vd'gd), 
Francisco, 42nd viceroy of New Spain 
(1760), governed the province for but six 
months. Previous to coming to Mexico he 
had been governor of Cuba. In both places 
he made himself much liked by his fairness, 
affable manners and tact. 

Calderon {kaV da-ron') , Fernando (1809- 
1845), the greatest dramatist of Mexico and 
one of her most inspired poets. He shares 
with Ignacio Rodriguez Galvan the honor 
of being the greatest Mexican writer of the 
first years of the Republic. He was a 
wonderfully prolific writer and he produced 
in his short life work enough for twice the 
period of his literary activity. He did 
more than any other writer to create in 
Mexico a national dramatic literature. 
Among the most noted of his dramatic 
works are the following: Zadig-Zeila; 
Reinaldo and Elina; The Pohiics of the Day; 
Armandina; Rarniro, Count of Lucena; Ephi- 
genia; To None of the Three; The Tourna~ 
tnent; Herman, or the Return of the Criisader; 
Hersilia and Virginia and Anne Boleyn. 

Calendar Stone, Aztec, a huge carved 
stone now in the National Museum in 
Mexico City, round which discussion has 
waged warm, Leon y Gama and his followers 
claiming it is purely an astronomical record, 
while Chavero asserts that it originally 
served as the base of a smaller stone to 
which the victims destined for sacrifice were 
tied. This stone is circular in shape, and 
upon it are carved several concentric cir- 
cles. In the center is a figure representing 
the sun, and around this are twenty other 
figures which represent the twenty days of 
the Mexican month. It is one of the largest 
and most interesting of the many stone 
monuments left us of the curious civiliza- 
tion of the Aztecs. 

Calleja (kdl-yd'hd), Felix Maria, 59th 
viceroy of New Spain (1813-1816), was 
field marshal under the previous viceroy 
and had distinguished himself as a royalist 
leader against the revolutionary army in 
New Spain. However, after the siege of 
Cuautla (See Morelos) Calleja, who was in 
command of the Army of the Center, gave 



up his command, on account of a disagree- 
ment with the viceroy Venegas, and retired 
to private life; from which he again emerged 
to become himself viceroy He prosecuted 
the war against the revolutionists, with 
varying success. However his vigilant 
policy gradually weakened the army of the 
revolution until, in 1814 Calleja was able 
to write home to Spain that "The insur- 
gents have been dislodged from all parts of 
New Spain, the only military point remain- 
ing to them being Lake Chapala;" and, in- 
deed, this was no idle boast, for of the great 
leaders, Matamoros, Morelos, Miguel Bravo 
and his father and Galiana were dead and 
their forces captured or in hiding in all the 
mountains, swamps and inaccessible places 
of New Spain. Calleja was a man of cool 
judgment and he did much to put down 
the revolution by the systematic manner in 
which he carried on his military operations, 
and by the indulgence he extended to those 
of the revolutionary party who were will- 
ing to lay down their arms. His admin- 
istration was one of constant agitation on 
account of the unsettled condition of affairs 
both in Mexico and Spain, but Calleja, 
carried a level head throughout it all. For 
his good services the viceroy was made 
Count of Calderon on his return to Spain. 

Camera de Diputados. See Chamber of 
Deputies, 

Campanas, Cerro de las. See Cerro de 
LAS Campanas. 

Campeche {kdm-pd'chd), one of the 
southern states of Mexico, situated between 
Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and 
Guatemala, has an area of 18,025 square 
miles. It is purely an agricultural state 
and its principal products are: timber, 
corn, frijoles (native brown and black 
beans), rice, sugar, chili (native red pepper), 
henequen, fruits, chicle (chewing gum), a 
large variety of vegetables, and aguardiente 
(native brandy). Its principal cities are 
Campeche (the capital) and El Carmen. 
The state is generally low, very hot and 
possesses few rivers or lakes. One of its 
chief sources of riches is fishing, which is 
carried on all along the coast. . 

Canalize (kd' nd-le' so) , Gen. Valentin, 
commander of the Mexican army at the 
battle of Cerro Gordo, April 18, 1S47. His 
defeat at this place left the way open for 
the march of General Scott upon Mexico 
City with the division of the American army 
of invasion under his command. 

Carmen (kdr'mdn), the largest island be- 
longing to Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico. 
It and Puerto Real form the bar which 
shuts off Laguna de Terminos from the 



CARPIO 



2251 



CEBRIAN Y AGUSTIN 



Gulf, which see. Commercially these two 
islands are of very little importance; but 
their presence there shuts off ■ the great 
tides of the Gulf from the lagoon. How- 
ever, there is a very remarkable deposit of 
excellent salt upon the Island of Carmen, 
which is over three miles long by two 
miles wide and of great depth. 

Carpio (kdr'pe-o), Manuel (i 791-1860), 
a poet of wide range, but overestimated by 
Mexican critics. He gives us, as one critic 
aptly says, "A gallery of exact and well- 
painted pictures;" but while he shows a 
wide range of poetic power, his execution is 
not equal to his promise and his talents. 
He possesses great facility of expression, 
smoothness of verse and a very pleasing 
imagination. He is especially forceful in de- 
scription, and religious poetry appeals to him. 

Carrillo, Diego. See Mendoza y 

PiMENTEL. 

Casa de Moneda. See the Mint. 

Casafuerte, Marquis of. See Acuna, 
Juan de. 

Casasus {kds-d-sdos') , Joaquin (1858- 
), journalist, diplomat, educator and 
noted Mexican writer on civics and political 
economy. For some time he was Mexican 
Ambassador to Washington. His most 
noted contributions to the civic and political 
literature of Mexico are : History of the 
London Debt; The Banking Question; Inter- 
national Exchanges ; The Monetary Question; 
and a History of the Gold and Silver Qtiestion. 
He has also made some excellent transla- 
tions from foreign languages into Spanish, 
among them being Horace's Odes and Long- 
fellow's Evangeline. 

Castro, Pedro Nuffo Colon de Portugal y. 
See Colon de Portugal. 

Cathedral of Mexico, the largest church 
building in the republic and one of the most 
imposing structures in the New World, is 
the seat of the Bishopric of Mexico. It 
stands upon the site of the famous teocalli 
or Aztec temple (which see) on the north 
side of the Zocalo or Plaza Major of the 
Capital. In 1523, two years after the con- 
quest, the Cathedral of the Holy Metro- 
politan Church of Mexico, was built upon 
the site of the present Cathedral. This, 
which was a small building for such a high- 
sounding title, was replaced, a few years 
later, by a somewhat larger structure; and 
this, in its turn, gave place to the present 
building, which was over one hundred years 
in construction. The first stone was laid 
in 1573. by order of Philip II of Spain, by 
permission granted by Pope Clement VII. 
So slow was the work of construction that 
it was not until 1626 that the first service 
was held in sacristy. The final dedication 
took place Dec. 22, 1667. The building 
was finally completed in 1791. The edifice 
measures inside 387 feet long by 177 feet 
front and 197 feet high. The two great 
towers (see engraving) are 203 feet six inches 



in height and cost $200,000; the great bell, 
known as Santa Maria de Guadalupe, is 19 
feet tall and cost $10,000, an enormous sum 
of money for those days, when the actual 
value of money was much greater than now. 
Irrespective of the free labor which was 
given by slaves and religious property 
owners, the building cost over $2,000,000. 
Today it would probably cost five times 
that amount. The edifice is built of stone 
and is a mixture of Doric and Ionic styles 
of architecture, with white marble ^capitals, 
statues, friezes and basso-relievos. Among 
the various architects who contributed to 
the plans of the Cathedral were Manuel 
Tolsa and Alonzo Perez Castaneda. The 
prevailing style of the interior is Doric, with 
occasional traces of Gothic; 20 great fluted 
columns support the roof in part; and be- 
neath the great central dome handsome 
arches form a vast Latin cross. The Cathe- 
dral is rich in fine wood carving, numerous 
paintings and statuettes. 

San Felipe de Jesus (Saint Philip of 
Jesus), the Chapel of the Relics and Saint 
Peter are the principal chapels of the 
Cathedral. All of these have excellent 
paintings, and within them are buried the 
remains of various men famous in Mexican 
history, among these being Agustin de 
Iturbide, first emperor of Mexico, Juan de 
Zumarraga, first archbishop of Mexico and 
Gregorio Lopez, "The Man with the Iron. 
Mask." 

Catholic Church on the continent of 
America. The first, was established by a. 
priest called Alonzo Gonzalez in Yucatan in. 
1517. Gonzalez was attached to the expe- 
dition of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, 
De Cordoba landed near Cape Catoche and 
was forced to fight a battle with the natives: 
which is described as follows by an ancient 
chronicler: "Fifteen Spaniards were killed 
in the battle, but, by the grace of God, 
fifteen of the natives were also slain and two 
captured." While the fighting was going 
on Gonzalez entered a native temple and 
ordered collected the idols therein and 
carried them away. When the battle was 
over the temple was dedicated as a Chris- 
tian church and two Indian chiefs who had 
been captured were baptized. And the 
chronicler adds: "And this was the first 
Christian church, and these were the first 
Christian converts that ever were in the 
continental parts of the New World." 

Cebrian y Agustin {thd'bre-dn e d'g55s- 
ten'), Pedro, Count of Fuenclara,, viceroy 
of New Spain (1742-46), made the first 
effort to obtain geographical and statistical 
information of an official character relative 
to New Spain. Settlers from Mexico were 
sent to Florida and the Franciscans estab- 
lished numerous missions throughout New 
Spain. The viceroy paid much attention to 
the erection of much-needed public build- 
ings and other works of an official nature. 



CEDROS 



2252 



CHAPULTEPEC 



Cedros (sd'drds) Island, ot considerable 
size, forms the western side of the Bay of 
Sabastian, on the west coast of Lower Cali- 
fornia. It is of rocky formation and rugged 
coast, and must originally have formed the 
extension of what is now known as Point 
Eugenia. The few inhabitants are Indians. 

Celaya (sd-ld'yd), (Level Land), a city 
in the \'alley of Laja, in the state of Guana- 
juato, on the central braaich of the National 
Railways of Me.xico, iSo miles to the north 
of Mexico City, is a manufacturing place of 
considerable importance. It was founded 
in 1570. It is noted for its woolen and 
cotton goods, soaps and candies, the latter 
of which have a reputation throughout 
Mexico. The place-has many fine buildings, 
including colleges, schools, churches and 
public edifices. Architecturally the hand- 
somest building in the city is the church 
of Our Lady of Caniien, the work of the 
famous architect and painter, Eduardo 
Tresguerras, many of whose fine pictures 
are in various churches in Celaya, Popu- 
.lition 35,000. 

Cerda (thar'dd), Thomas Antonio Man= 
rlque de la, Marquis de la Laguna and 
Count of Paredes, 27th viceroy of New 
Spain (16S0-16S6). During his adminis- 
tration the natives of New Mexico rose 
against Spanish dominion and murdered all 
the white men found in that district, among 
these being 21 Franciscan friars. They laid 
siege to and took Santa Fe, plundered and 
set fire to the town and then retreated be- 
fore the arrival of Spanish troops which the 
viceroy sent from Mexico City. The latter 
sent some 300 families composed of Spanish 
emigrants and Mexicans to populate New 
Mexico, with a view to preventing a second 
uprising of the natives, and all the forts of 
the territory were strongly garrisoned with 
trained soldiers. Pirates still continued to 
trouble the. coasts of Mexico, and the famous 
corsair, Agramonte, an Englishman with a 
Spanish name, sacked the city of Veracruz, 
on the Mtexican Gulf coast of New Spain, 
and carried off with him a number of 
women, several priests and all the portable 
wealth he could lay his hands on. There 
were between 800 and 1,000 men under 
his command. 

Cerralvo, Marquis of. See Pacheco y 

OSORIO. 

Cerro de las Campanas {sdr'rd da Ids 
kdni-pdn' as) (Hill of the Bells) , the hill upon 
which the Emperor Maximilian took refuge 
when the city of Queretaro fell into the 
hands of the republicans. Upon this same 
hill he was executed a month later on the 
charge of treason, usurpation of power be- 
longing to the Mexican people and pro- 
longing civil war in Mexico. See Maxi- 
milian. 

Cerro de Mercado. See Mercado. 

Cerro Gordo. See Canalizo. 

Chac=Mool. See Fire God. 



Chalcas (clidl'kds), The, a powerful peo- 
ple who originally .lived upon the shores of 
Lake Chalco, in the Valley of Mexico. They 
were one of the most powerful enemies with 
which the Aztecs had to contend in the 
early days of their history in the valley. 
They were finally defeated by the allied 
armies of Atzcapozalco and Mexico, though 
the Mexicans bore the brunt of the battle. 
After this defeat, the Chalcas became part 
of the Aztec confederacy though they raised 
the standard of rebellion un.successfully 
several times. The land of the Chalcas is 
now one of the most productive parts of 
the Valley of Mexico. See Chalco and 
Lake Chalco. 

Chalco (chdl'ko), Lake, a fresh-water 
lagoon in the Valley of Mexico, which, in 
the course of several centuries of attempts 
to drain the valley, has decreased very 
much in extent. Upon this lake were fought 
very many bloody battles in the days of the 
Aztec confederacy. See Chalco. 

Chalco {chdl'ko) , situated on Lake Chalco, 
in the Valley of Mexico, now a picturesque 
little Indian town. It early figured in Mexi- 
can history as the chief city of the Chalcas, 
one of the powerful tribes who opposed, the 
Aztecs on their arrival in the Valley of 
Mexico. The Chalcas were afterwards sub- 
jected by the Mexicans and their lands be- 
came part of the Aztec empire. 

Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Dipu- 
tados) , was fonn«^-^lv the Iturbide Theater, 
but upon the destruction Aug. 22, 1872, of 
the quarters in the National Palace, occupied 
by the deputies, arrangements were made 
to hold all meetings of that body in the 
Iturbide Theater. This arrangement con- 
tinued until the latter b.uilding was burned 
on March 23, 1909. With this building 
were destro^^ed most of the records of the 
nation belonging to the transactions of the 
deputies. Upon the destruction of the 
Chamber of Deputies the congress at once 
made an appropriation to rebuild the edifice 
upon the same ground. 

Chapultepec {chd-pddl'td-pdk') Castle 
(meaning the Hill of the Grasshopper), the 
official residence of the President of Mexico, 
situated upon a steep hill at the southwest 
end of the Passeo de la Reforma, the main 
driveway which connects it with the City 
of Mexico, about a mile distant, has an 
interesting history w^hich reaches back into 
the legendary past of the country. It was 
formerly surrounded on three sides by the 
marshy grounds which formed part of the 
shallow shore-water of Lake Texcoco. 
Shortly after their arrival in the Valley of 
Mexico, the Aztecs took refuge on this rock, 
which is of extensive proportions. They 
were driven from this and, after _ more 
wanderings, they settled upon two islands 
in the center of Lake Texcoco. By a treaty, 
made some years later, they obtained per- 
mission from a neighboring prince to make 



CHAPULTEPEC 



2253 



CHURUBUSCO 



use of the waters of a spring at the foot of 
the rock of Chapultepec. Chimalpopoca, 
one of their later kings, built an aqueduct 
over three miles long, to bring this water 
into the city of Tenochititlan (Mexico). 
Later on Chapultepec fell into the hands of 
the Mexicans, who made of it a summer 
residence for their kings, and the forest sur- 
rounding it an extensive hunting ground. 
There, too, was the royal burying ground 
of the Aztec princes during the supremacy 
of the Mexicans. One of the finest natural 
forests and parks in the world is that which 
still surrounds this ancient rock. It is now 
the favorite out of city park of the people 
of the Capital of the Republic, and there, 
on feast days and Sunday afternoons, all the 
wealth and fashion of the city may be seen; 
and the display of vehicles of pleasure on 
such occasions is only equalled in Paris and 
St. Petersburg. 

The Hill of Chapultepec was stormed by 
the American army under General Pillow, 
Sept. 13, 1847, after a desperate resistance 
on the part of the garrison, which was com- 
posed for the most part of students of the 
Military College. See Galvez-, Military 
College-, Aztecs. 

Chapulfepcc, The Hill of. See Cha- 
pultepec Castle. 

Chavero {cha-va'ro), Alfredo (1841-1907), 
antiquarian, historian, journalist, dramatist, 
critic, editor and poet, who made his influ- 
ence deeply felt in politics and the social 
life of the Capital, where he was born. He 
was one of the few Mexican dramatists 
whose plays have been popular in Madrid. 
His most noted plays are Xochitl (his best). 
The Loves of Alar con and Quetzalcoatl. He 
contributed the first volume to the monu- 
mental work, Mexico Throiighout the Cen- 
turies, he wrote a History of Mexico in five 
volumes, edited the works of a number of 
the early and important writers of Mexico, 
published biographies and criticisms, all 
showing careful thought and investigation 
and devoted much attention to archaeology 
and kindred subjects. Among his works on 
the latter subjects are: Mexican Antiq- 
uities, extensively illustrated; Hieroglyph- 
ical Paintings; The Wheel of Years and 
The Astronoinical Gods of the Ancient Mexi- 
cans. On his death he was accorded a state 
funeral by the Mexican government. 

Chiapas (che-d'pds), a state of Mexico, 
bordering on Guatemala to the south and 
lying between Tabasca, Veracruz and 
Oaxaca, has an area of 27,220 square miles, 
most of which is humid, warm and well 
watered. In natural endowments it is one 
of the richest states in the republic; but its 
riches have been but partially developed. 
Chiapas naturally divides into three parts: 
the .Pacific slope, which is well watered by 
many small streams, capable of developing 
an immense amount of water power; the 
Central Tableland and the Gulf Slope, the 



latter of which is well watered by branches 
of important rivers. Through the tableland 
flows the Mexcalapa, a branch of the Gri- 
jalva, which extends its numerous trib- 
utaries throughout this territory. The 
chief products of the state are: Coffee, 
rubber, cacao, lumber, fine woods, hene- 
quen, cattle, horses and salt. In Tabasco 
is the largest rubber plantation in the 
world, which contains over 15,000 acres of 
rubber trees, owned by an American com- 
pany, with headquarters in San Francisco, 
California. The principal cities are,_Tuxtla 
Gutierrez, the capital and commercial cen- 
ter, San Cristobal las Casas, Tapachula and 
Tonala . 

Chichimecas (che' che-md' kds) , one of the 
semi-civilized tribes who entered the Valley 
of Mexico before the arrival of the Aztecs, 
probably about the middle of the 12th 
century, A. D. They are supposed to have 
united with the part of the Toltecs who 
remained in the Valley of Mexico after the 
emigration of the greater part of that people 
about 100 years before the arrival of the 
Chichimecas. On the arrival of the Acol- 
huas, who apparently spoke the same 
tongue as the Chichimecas, the two people 
formed a more or less close union; but the 
Acolhuas, being the much more civilized of 
the two, they gradually absorbed the former 
and the united people became known as the 
Acolhuas. They finally took up their abode 
at Texcoco, which became one of_ the most 
noted centers of native civilization in Mexico. 
See Texcoco. 

Chihuahua. See »p. 384. 

Chimalpopoca (che-mdl' po-pdk' a) (Smok- 
ing Shield), third king of Mexico ( 1409- 
1423). During his reign the Mexicans and 
the Texcocans became friends, for, _ when 
Nezahualcoyotl, the famous poet king of 
the latter nation was a refugee from _ his 
kingdom, Chimalpopoca helped him against 
his enemy, Tezozomoc, king of Azcapot- 
zcalco; and on the death of this latter, the 
two friendly nations carried on the struggle 
against his successor, Maxtlaton, known in 
history as the Tyrant of Azcapotzcalco ; but 
the latter gaining the upper hand in the 
struggle, carried off Chimalpopoca to Azca- 
potzcalco, where he shut him in a cage on 
the market place, thus leaving him exposed 
to the ridicule of the people. In despera- 
tion Chimalpopoca hanged himself. In his 
reign the aqueduct from Chapultepec to 
Mexico was built. 

Cholula (cho-ldo' Id) , a town of about 
5,000 inhabitants, situated eight miles from 
Puebla, Mexico. At the time of the Spanish 
Conquest, it was one of the greatest cities 
of the Aztec empire and its most sacred 
place. It was there that Cortes, the con- 
queror, discovering a plot of the natives 
against himself, massacred some three thou- i 
sand 'of the nobles and chief men on the 
market place. But today the chief interest 



COAHUILA 



2254 



CO XT RE R AS 



of Cholula centers around the great pyramid 
of Quetzalcoatl (the Fair God), probably 
the largest pyramid in the world, certainly 
larger than the famous Cheops of Egypt. 
Part of its base is covered with the debris 
of centuries, yet the part above ground 
measures 1,000 feet square. This pyramid, 
though probably of very ancient construc- 
tion, was still in use at the time of the 
conquest, and upon the top of it there was 
a great and most famous temple dedicated 
to the worship of Quetzalcoatl, a Toltec 
god adopted by the Aztecs. See Quet- 
z.ALCOATL. The Pyramid of Cholula, ill- 
treated as it has been by the hand of time, 
appears much like a natural hill. To this 
partial destruction and disfigurement, its 
construction has lent ready help; for it was 
built of sundried bricks, much after the 
manner of the structures of the early Egyp- 
tians and other civilized nations of the 
same age. Unlike the other two great 
pyramids of the upland plateaux of Mexico 
(See Teotihuac.a.x), that of Cholula is 
built with four terraces (and a truncated 
top), which have also aided the work of 
disfigurement. On the summit of the 
pyramid there is a beautiful church of 
Spanish construction dedicated to the 
worship of our Lady of los Remedios, to 
whom the Spaniards were addicted to erect- 
ing churches and altars. 

Churubusco {choo' rod-bods' ko) , a town in 
the Valley of Mexico, a short distance from 
the capital, with which it is connected by 
tramway. The name is a corruption of 
Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war, to 
whom there was erected in the days of the 
Aztec confederacy, a great temple and 
shrine. Here is one of the largest and best 
known churches and convents in Mexico. 
This place was taken by storm, after a 
stubborn resistance, by the American army 
of invasion under General Worth, on Aug. 
20, 1847. Just opposite Churubusco is the 
Mexico Country Club, the greatest institu- 
tion of its class in all Mexico. The value of 
the club's property is over $2,000,000. 

Coahuila (ko'd-we'ld), a northern state 
of Mexico, bordering on the United States, 
Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis 
Potosi and Xuevo Leon, having an area of 
62,360 square miles of territory, which con- 
sists of small plains, valleys, mountains and 
canons, with a considerable portion of very 
fertile land. In the west there are two dry, 
practically desert plains, the Bolson de 
Mapimi and Barreal de la Paila, in which 
are two extensive lakes, Mayran and Viezca, 
into which flow the rivers Nazas and Agua- 
naval from the state of Durango. The chief 
industrial and commercial centers of Coa- 
huila are Saltillo, Parras, Viezca, Mata- 
moros, San Pedro, Cuatro Cienagas and 
Porfirio Diaz (Piedras Negras). Principal 
products: Cotton, corn, frijoles (native 
brown and black beans), ixtli, wheat, wine, 



woods, fruits, minerals, brandy, sugar, 
barley, mescal and chili (native red pepper). 
Colima {ko-le'md), a Pacific-coast state of 
Mexico lying between Jalisco and Michoacan 
contains 2,272 square miles. Unlike most 
of the west-coast states, it is generally level, 
only in the northeast being somewhat 
mountainous. In general the climate is 
wami, though in the mountainous regions 
it is temperate. It produces all the tropical 
products and exploits the salt beds along 
the coast. The state is connected by the 
Manzanillo-Colima railway with the Cen- 
tral branch of the National Railways of 
Mexico, and, through the latter, with the 
commercial centers of the republic. The 
principal cities are Colima, the capital, with 
its excellent seaport of Manzanillo. 

Conquest, Banner of the. See Banner 
OF THE Conquest. 

Contreras (kon-trd'rds) , Jose Peon y 
(1843-1907), medical man, poet, dramatic, 
epic, lyric and pas- 
toral, and the most 
noted of all the mod- 
ern dramatists of 
Mexico. He may be 
said to be truly a 
national poet and 
dramatist, for he has 
made Mexican sub- 
jects his chief themes, 
and he has handled 
them in such a way 
as to make them 
more popular than 
has any other Mex- 
ican author. He was 
a most prolific writer 
and he has a long 
list of dramas and 
poetical works to his credit, all of which 
show vivid imagination, delicacy, yet sure- 
ness of touch, strong characterization, 
beauty of expression and dramatic power. 
His writings all show a strong romantic in- 
fluence. Among his best known dramas 
are the following; The Punishment of God; 
Simple Mary; An Idyl of Childhood; The 
Count of Santiesteban; To the Very Heavens; 
Gil Gonzalez de Avila; The Sacrifice of Life; 
The King's Daughter; Struggles of Honor and 
Love; Juan de Villalpando; A Love Affair 
of Hernando Cortes; Impulses of the Heart; 
The Count of Pcnalva; Between Your Uncle 
and Your Aunt; Hope; Anton de Alaminos; 
For a Hat Ornament; Soledad, Padre Jose; 
Gabriela and Pedrenales. All of these 
dramas show action, knowledge of stage- 
craft and deep comprehension of character 
and the motives that inove men. In addi- 
tion to the above long list of dramas. Peon 
has produced historical legends, romances, 
lyrical and other poems, all touched with 
the spirit of romanticism and vivid with 
imagination and the same power of movement 
and characterization found in his dramas. 




JOSE PEON Y 
CONTRERAS 




COLOSSAL MONUMENT TO CUAUTEMOC, THE LAST OF THE AZTEC EMPERORS, 

■ MEXICO CITY 



CONTRERAS 



2255 



CUAUTEMOC 



Contreras, Pedro Moya de. See Moya 
DE Contreras. 

Colon de Portugal y Castro {kd-lon'dd 

pdr'tod-gdl'e kds'tro), Pedro Nuno, Duke de 
Veraguas, 25th yiceroy of New Spain in 
1673, was a descendant of Christopher 
Columbus, the discoverer of the New World. 
He died a few days after having arrived in 
Mexico City to take charge of his office. 

Conquest, Duke of the. See Salazar, 
Pedro Castro Figueroa. 

Cordoba, (kdr'do-vd), a commercially im- 
portant town in the state of Veracruz at 
the junction of the Mexican and Veracruz 
and Pacific railways, about 200 miles from 
the City of Mexico, was founded in 1618. 
It is the center of and chief town in a very 
rich agricultural district and does a large 
trade in tropical fruits, tobacco, sugar and 
corn. Population 10,000. 

Cordoba, Fernandez de. See Fer- 
nandez DE Cordoba. 

Coruna, Count of. See Lorenzo Juarez 
DE Mendoza. 

Coyoacan (co-yo'd-kdn') , a picturesque 
town in the Valley of Mexico, a short dis- 
tance to the south of the Capital, by which 
it is connected by electric tramway. It 
is the favorite summer residence of many 
rich people of Mexico City, who have there 
grand old homes, with extensive gardens 
and orchards. Coyoacan (the place of the 
coyote), was an important commercial cen- 
ter during the days of the Aztec confederacy, 
and it was there that Cortes, after the con- 
quest of Tenochtitlan, made his residence. 
The house he built for himself is still 
standing and bears his coat of arms over 
the door. It now serves as the town court 
house and jail. 

Cozumel (ko' sod-mdl') , an island of con- 
siderable size lying close to the eastern 
coast of Yucatan, Mexico. In pre-Colum- 
bian times it was the seat of a strong native 
government and considerable civilization. 
Hernando Cortes visited it on his famous 
voyage to Mexican waters. On the island 
are notable ruins, some of them dating to 
an early period in the history of Mexico. 

Croix (cro'es), Carlos de. Marquis de 
Croix, 44th viceroy of New Spain (1766- 
1771), acting under orders from Charles III 
of Spain, decreed the expulsion of all the 
Jesuits from the Spanish dominions and 
confiscated to the crown their possessions. 
The order of expulsion was passed secretly 
throughout the country by messengers to 
trusted officers of the court, and the utmost 
secrecy was maintained so that not an 
inkling of what was about to happen might 
reach the ears of those interested lest the 
populace should rise in behalf of the mis- 
sionaries, who were much beloved by the 
Indians. On June 25, 1767, before day- 
light, the order was delivered to the heads 
of all the Jesuit establishments throughout 
New Spain and at once the friars were 



herded together and hurried, under escort, 
to Veracruz. Some of them perished on 
the, way and others died of yellow fever 
while in port, and still others in Havana, 
from which they were taken to various 
places designated by the royal decree, most 
of them being sent to Italy, among these 
latter being the following who were after- 
wards to become famous: Alegre, Clavigero, 
Maneiro, Cavo, Landivar, Lacunza and 
Marquez. After the departure of the 
Jesuits, many of the native tribes fell back 
into savagery, and were, for almost a cen- 
tury, to give trouble to the government. 

Cruillas, Marquis de. See Monserrat, 
Joaquin de. 

Cruz (kroos), Sor Juana Inez de la 
(165 1— 1694), the most popular and the best 
of the women writers of Mexico, and in 
the very forerank of the literati of the 
Republic. So popular is she that streets, 
theatres, schools and literary and other 
societies have been named after her. At 
the age of 17 she had already attained 
literary fame. It was about this time that 
she became a nun; and, from then on for 
the next 12 years, in the seclusion of the 
cloister, she devoted her life to literature 
and the study of science, history, sociology 
and all the lines of knowledge of her day. 
So great was her intelligence and her 
capacity for the assimilation of knowledge 
that she attracted the attention of the 
whole Spanish world. This career came 
suddenly to an end in 1690, when the 
Bishop of Puebla, Manuel Fernandez, pre- 
vailed upon her to give up the study of 
profane subjects and to devote herself alto- 
gether to the duties of her religious life. 
In the enthusiasm of her religious zeal, she 
sold her library, which consisted of over 
4,000 volumes, distributed the money thus 
obtained among the poor, and from that 
day on until her death, four years later, 
the voice of the "tenth muse" was never 
again heard in the outside world. Her 
literary remains show what a struggle this 
must have cost her; and in all probability 
the severance of all the literary ties which 
had been her very life up to this time, 
shortened her days. The world has lost 
much through the intolerance of Manuel 
Fernandez, Bishop of Puebla. 

Few Mexican writers have understood so 
well as Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz the work- 
ings of the human heart; for she reflects its 
every mood and passion; and her great 
learning gives her writings a profoundness 
to be met with among few of the other 
Mexican writers. Her poetry is rich in 
coloring, melodious, varied in form and 
simple in conception, yet, at the same time, 
notable for the depth of its philosophy. 

Cuautemoc {kwd'dd-td'mdk) (i 520-1 521), 
the last emperor of the Aztecs, and son of 
Ahuizotl, is the most heroic figure in Aztec 
history. On the death of his uncle, Cuit- 



CUAUTLA 



2256 



CUITLAHUAC 



lahuac, he became head of the Aztec con- 
federacy, which was then being hardly 
pressed by the Spanish conqueror, Hernan 
Cortes. He was but 24 years of age, but 
he had in him the stuff of which warriors 
are made. At once he proceeded to put the 
city of Tenochtitlan in the best condition 
possible to withstand a protracted siege, 
and he animated his people to resist the 
invaders. From the surrounding country 
he hurried into the capital of his empire 
hundreds of tried and trusty warriors. But 
his was a lost cause before he assumed the 
reins of power; for the fight was one of the 
science of Europe against the courage and 
patriotism of the semi-barbaric Aztecs. 
For So days, Cuautemoc defended the city, 
until it was literally battered down about 
his head. Thousands died of hunger and 
of that still more terrible enemy, thirst. 
And fevers and diseases of various kinds, 
including smallpox, claimed their holocausts 
of victims. Only when the beautiful cap- 
ital ot Aztecland was a mass of ruins did 
Cuautemoc try to make his escape with his 
family and some of his principal nobles. 
He was captured and brought before the 
conqueror, Cortes, who praised his braverv 
and promised him protection. How well 
this promise was kept history shows; for 
shortly afterwards Cuautemoc was put to 
the torture to make him reveal the hiding, 
place of the treasure of Montezuma II. On 
an expedition made by Cortes into Central 
America, in which Cuautemoc took part, 
the latter was, without trial, hanged to a 
Cyprus tree (1525). 

Cuautia {k-dud-dof Id) , a picturesque city 
in the state of Morelos, which has long been 
a favorite health resort for people from the 
capital. It is on the main line of the Inter- 
oceanic Railway, 85 miles from Mexico City. 
The city is noted for the heroic defense 
made there by Morelos, the revolutionary 
general, against the Spanish army, for two 
months and a half in 181 2 Altitude 3,500 
feet; population 22,000. The city is the 
center of a rich agricultural country. 

Cubas (kod-vds), Antonio Garcia (1832- 
), noted as a statistical and archaeo- 
logical writer, has held many important 
positions in his native country. He has 
published numerous valuable maps and 
charts of the Republic of Mexico and he 
has done important literary work. He is 
a meinber of the Legion of Honor of France 
and his name figures among the honorary 
members of many societies of note in var- 



ious parts of the world. In 1857 he pub- 
lished the first trustworthy map of the 
Republic of Mexico. 

Cuellar (kwd'ydr), Jose T. de (1823- 
), editor, dramatist and journalist, has 
been very successful as a writer of comedy. 
Of the latter the best known are: Poor 
Boys; Old Chacon and The Art of Love. 
Natural y Figiira, a serious drama, is one 
of the most successful plays ever put upon 
the Mexican stage. Among his other suc- 
cessful serious plays. Griefs and Sacrifices is 
worthy of inention. Among his successful 
novels are: The Magic Lantern, a series of 
many stories; Salad and Chickens; Chnchu; 
Old Maids; Gobina; People who are Just So 
and Gabriel the Locksmith. Cuellar has also 
been one of the noted journalists of the 
Capital and the editor of various important 
publications. 

Cuellar, Marquis of. See Fernandez 

DE L.A. CUEV.A.. 

Cueva Enriquez, Fernandez de la. See 

Fernandez de h\ Cueva. 

Cuitlahuac (kwet-ld'wdk) , Lord of Ixta- 
palapa, and brother of Montezuma II, 
whom he succeeded as emperor of Mexico 
on the death of the latter, June 30, 1520. 
He was a noted warrior, wise, brave and 
generous, qualities very much needed at 
that particular time in the history of 
Mexico, which was then struggling desper- 
ately against the invading Spaniards. He 
was intensely patriotic, and he worked 
ceaselessly to unite the Mexican people 
against the white invaders. He set hun- 
dreds of Indians to work to repair the 
ruined houses of the city of Mexico; he 
repaired the ruined fortifications and con- 
structed additional lines of defense and he 
sent out trusted men in all directions 
throughout the Aztec empire to excite and 
encourage the Mexican people to resist the 
Spaniards to the bitter end. He even tried 
to persuade the Tlaxcalans, the traditional 
enemies of the Mexicans, to unite with the 
latter against the invaders. But the con- 
queror, Cortes, gaining engagement after 
engagement, owing to the fact that he was 
provided with cavalry and modern arms, 
the allies of the Mexicans deserted one 
after another, and even Cuitlahuac himself 
was defeated by Cortes. In the midst of 
this desperate struggle, Cuitlahuac was 
smitten with smallpox, which the Spaniards 
had brought to Mexico, and he died in a 
few days after a stirring reign of only 
four months. 



DEAD 



2257 



ESTEVA 



D 



Dead, Street of the, often mentioned 
by tourists and writers on Mexican sub- 
jects, is a very ancient cauSeway beginning 
at the "Citadel" and stretching from there 
past the pyramid of the Sun to the pyramid 
of the Moon in the vast ruins of the very 
ancient city of San Juan Teotihuacan 
(The City of the Gods), which is situated 
27 miles to the north of the city of Mexico, 
on the line of the Mexican Railway This 
causeway is supposed to have been the 
main thoroughfare of Teotihuacan in the 
days when it flourished as the greatest and 
most sacred city of ancient Mexico. It is 
lined on both sides by numerous tumuli 
constructed of earth. See Teotihuacan. 

Del Rey, General. See Calleja del Rey. 

Deputies, Chamber of. See Chamber 
OF Deputies. 

Desierto (dd'se-dr'to), EI, a famous 
ruined Carmelite mission situated 12 miles 
to the southwest of the City of Mexico. In 
ancient days it was a place of great renown 
and sanctity; but it is now deserted and 
falling into ruins among its surrounding of 
stately hills and primeval forests. The 
ruins are of vast extent, most picturesquely 
situated and possessed of a wild beauty 
which attracts hundreds of tourists and 
picknickers each year. By the people of 
the cities and towns of the Valley of Mexico 
and, especially of the Capital of the Republic, 
El Desierto is looked upon as one of the 
most pleasant places for a day's outing. _ 

Diaz de Armendaris {de'as da dr'man- 
dar'es). Lope, Marquis de Cadereita i6th 
viceroy of New Spain (1635-1640), rented 
a number of vessels and established a small 
fleet on the shore of the. Gulf of Mexico, 
to free the ports of those waters of the 
pirates and privateers who harassed them 
frequently. He encouraged the setulement 
of the Indian districts of New Spain with 
white and half-breed families from the more 
.settled districts and he occupied himself 



See p. 528. 

See Guadalupe, 



Our 



with the sanitation of the Capital of the 
province. 

Diaz, Porfirio. 

Diego, Juan. 

Lady of. 

Dolores {do-l5r' as)' CemQtery , the national 
cemetery of Mexico, situated to the south- 
west of the City of Mexico, upon the hill- 
side behind the suburban town of Tacubaya. 
It is in no way noted for its beauty; but 
there are buried many of Mexico's most 
noted dead. It figures frequently in the 
literature of Mexico, on account of its many 
associations and its intimate relationship 
with all classes of the Mexican people. 

Dolores de Hidalgo {dd-ldr'ds da e-ddl'go) 
a little town in the state of Guanajuato, 
Mexico, and near the Capital of the state. 
It is noted as the place where the patriot 
priest Hidalgo first raised the standard of 
rebellion against Spanish rule in New 
Spain. 

Durango {doo-rdn' go) , one of the largest 
states of Mexico, lying between Chihuahua, 
Coahuila, Zacatecas, Jalisco, Tepic and 
Sinaloa, has an area of 38,800 square miles 
of territory, which is in general moun- 
tainous, with great and fertile valleys. It 
has every variety of climate to be, found 
in Mexico, from the heat of the lowlands to 
the extreme cold of the mountain heights. 
The mountainous regions are extremely 
rich in valuable minerals, whose yearly out- 
put is valued at over $12,000,000. Durango 
is, in general, well watered by many rivers 
and mountain streams, the principal of 
which are the Nazas, Papasquiaro,' Mes- 
quital and Aguanaval. The chief products 
of the state are: Cotton, timber, sugar, 
chili (native red pepper), corn, wine, wheat, 
frijoles, ixtli, fruit, minerals and cattle. 
The principal cities of the state are: Dur- 
ango, the capital and chief commercial and 
mining center, Mapimi, Villa Lerdo, Nazas, 
Juarez, Papasquiaro and El Oro. 



Education. See p. 1215. 

Enriquez de Almanza. See Almanza. 

Enriquez de Guzman (dn-re'kds da gdds- 
nidn'), Luis, Count of Alba de Liste, 20th 
viceroy of New Spain (1650-1653). During 



his administration the Tarahumare Indians 
rose against the government and destroyed 
towns and villages in the state of Durango 
and demolished the forts which the govern- 
ment had built to defend the state against 



EXRIQUEZ DE ALMAXZA 



2258 



FERNANDEZ DE CORDOBA 



them. Practically all the white inhabitants 
in the Tarahumare country perished at the 
hands of the Indians. Important new 
mines were discovered and the famous 
palace of the Marquis del Valle was burned 
in 1652. Enriquez de Guzman was sent 
from Mexico to Peru as viceroy. 

Enriquez de Rivera (dn-re'kds da re- 
var'd). Fray Payo, archbishop of Mexico 
and 26th viceroy of New Spain (1673- 
16S0), was one of the best rulers of Mexico 
during the viceregal period. A chronicler 
of his time writing of him says: "So well 
did he temper justice with mercy, liberty 
with economy that his administration will 
serve for centuries to come as a model " 
During his administration gold was coined 
for the tirst time at the mint in Mexico 
City, a large colony was sent to California 
from New Spain and the famous hospital 
of Betlemitas was founded. The viceregal 
palace, which had been in the course of 
construction, was finished, the drainage 
works of the Valley of Mexico were com- 



pleted and the streets of the Capital paved. 
The viceroy spent vast sums from his private 
purse for the public good, thus leaving behind 
him many monuments in various parts of the 
dominion and especially in the Capital of 
New Spain. On his return to Spain he was 
appointed president of the Council of the 
Indies and Bishop of Cuenca. 

Escalona, Duke of. See Cabrera y 

BOBADILLA. 

Escobar y Llamas, Diego Osorio. See 

OsoRio Escobar y Llamas, Pedro. 

Esteva {ds-td'vd), Jose Maria (1818- 
1904), a Mexican poet who is very popular 
with the masses on account of his humor 
and the facility with which he paints the 
customs, thoughts and prejudices of the 
lower classes, especially those of his native 
state, Veracruz. But beneath all his appar- 
ent frivolity there runs a depth of feeling 
and an insight into the moods and passions 
that niove humanity, that gives him con- 
sideration in the eyes of those who look 
for the serious in literature. 



Falces, Marquis of. See Peralta, 
Gaston de. 

Feast Days are many in Mexico, though 
officially the government recognizes but few. 
The feast days that are recognized, wholly 
or in part, more especially in the rural dis- 
tricts and the towns and smaller cities of 
Mexico, number about one hundred. Most 
of these are religious festivals and their 
origin is to be found back in the days of 
Spanish occupation. As the Mexican peon 
is naturally fond of a holiday, he clings 
tenaciously to these ancient festivals. The 
days that are recognized each year by the 
government as national holidays are: Feb- 
ruary 5, Constitution day; May 5, defeat 
of the French at the Battle of Puebla, 
1862; May 8, Hidalgo's birthday; Septem- 
ber 15 and 16, independence days. 

Feathers of the Hummingbird. See 

HUITZILIHUITL. 

Federal District of Mexico, the 

smallest political division of the republic, 
occupies the central part of the Valley of 
Mexico, and is almost surrounded by the 
state of the same name. It contains the 
City of Mexico, the capital of the republic, 
to which it owes its importance and wealth. 
It is mountainous toward the south and 
west and flat to the east and north. For 
the greater part of the year the climate is 



even and delightful On account of the 
numerous railways centering in the Capital 
of the Republic, the Federal District has 
communication with almost every impor- 
tant part of Mexico. This gives it great 
commercial importance; and its political 
character gives it social and political im- 
portance. The chief towns are Mexico City, 
Xochimilco, Atzcapotzcalco, Tacubaya, 
Coyoacan and San Angel. Area 450 square 
miles. Population 650,000. 

Fernandez de Cordoba (fd-r-ndn'dds da 
kdr' do-vd') , Diego, Marquis of Guadalcazar, 
13th viceroy of New Spain (1612-1621), 
established a department for the collection 
of tribute and the distribution of quick- 
silver, which was much used in the mining 
of the precious metals; continued the work 
of drainage of the Valley of Mexico, founded 
the cities of Cordoba and Lerma and com- 
pleted (1620) the Chapultepec aqueduct, 
thus bringing good potable water into the 
Capital of the province, the need of which 
had long been felt During his administra- 
tion there was an uprising of the Tepehuan 
Indians, during which many Spaniards and 
friendly natives were slaughtered. On Feb. 
13, 1 6 19, a terrible earthquake, one of the 
longest on record, which lasted over a 
quarter of an hour, visited New Spain, 
ruining hundreds of buildings and killing 



FERNANDEZ DE LA CUEVA 



2259 



GALVEZ 



many people. Its influence extended over 
1, 5 DO miles. It was during his administra- 
tion that the famous engineer, Boot, visited 
NeT/ Spain, at the request of Philip III, to 
report upon the drainage work of the Valley 
of Mexico then being carried on (See Boot). 
About this time rich pearls began to be 
brought from the Gulf of Lower California. 

Fernandez de la Cueva {fdr-ndn'dds da 
Id kwd'vd), Francisco, Duke of Albur- 
querque, 21st viceroy of New Spain (1653- 
1660), protected scholars, artists and stu- 
dents of all classes, swept the public high- 
ways of robbers, sent a military expedition 
to Jamaica to help the inhabitants who 
were trying to throw of? the dominion of 
the English, founded in New Mexico the 
town of Albuquerque, established numer- 
ous missions, and "reduced to the Chris- 
tian faith multitudes of Indians." From 
Mexico he was sent to Sicily as viceroy. 

Fernandez de la Cueva Enriquez (fdr- 
ndn'dds dd Id kwd'vd dn-re'kds), Francisco, 
Duke of Alburquerque and Marquis of 
Cuellar, 33rd viceroy of New Spain (1702— 
171 1), was a careful and tactful ruler, qual- 
ities much needed at this particular time 
in Mexico when there were numerous fac- 
tions, each ready to show its illwill against 
the other. He increased the naval force in 
Mexican waters, pursued the pirates and 
other enemies of New Spain and practically 
cleared the Gulf of Mexico of the former, 
for the first time since the conquest. 

Fire Qod, The (Chac-Mool), a remark- 
able stone figure in the National Museum in 
Mexico City, was exhumed by Dr. Le Plon- 
geon from, the ruins of Chichen-Itza in 
Yucatan. It is a huge, recumbent figure 
holding with both hands over the upturned 



navel a circular disk, which is supposed to 
represent the sun. Alfredo Chavero is of 
the opinion that this figure represents the 
fire god of the ancient inhabitants of Yuca- 
tan. Three other figures of almost exactly 
similar form have been discovered in 
Mexico. The museum contains two speci- 
mens. 

Flores, (fldr'ds) Manuel Antonio, 50th 
viceroy of New Spain (1787-1789), had been 
governor of Bogota before coming to Mexico. 
He created several new bodies of native 
troops, inspected the principal forts of the 
country and put them on a better footing 
and made successful war upon the still 
unconquered Indian tribes of New Spain, 
forcing them to make peace with the Span- 
iards along the northern frontier, the result 
of which was felt for many years after- 
wards. He encouraged learning and im- 
proved the teaching staff in the School of 
Mines. 

Flower Carnival. An attempt has been 
made to hold each year in Mexico City a 
great Flower Carnival, which has not been 
very successful, as the great body of rich 
people have not taken kindly to it, although 
the day is made a general holiday, and as 
such is taken advantage of by vast num- 
bers of people; the display of handsome 
carriages on this day is one of the sights 
of the city. Another flower carnival, whose 
origin is to be found in the dim past, long 
before the discovery of America, is held 
also each year in Mexico City on the banks 
of the Viga Canal. This is the most pic- 
turesque festival held in the republic. See 
Viga Canal. 

Fuenclara, Count of- See Cebrian y 
Agustin. 



G 



Qachupina, La. See Remedios, Our 
Lady of Loo. 

Qalvan (gdl-vdn'), Ignacio Rodriguez 

(1816— 1842), one of the best of the romantic 
poets of the earlier years of the Mexican 
republic. He was a self-educated country 
boy, who came to the city, worked in a 
bookstore, devoured books and studied far 
into the night to wake up one morning to 
find himself famous. Notwithstanding all 
these disadvantages, he was a lyrical and 
dramatic poet of great power and literary 
excellence. On his way to take a post 
under the Mexican government in Central 
America, he contracted yellow fever and 



died in Havana, at the early age of 26 
His best dramas are Munoz; Visitor to 
Mexico and Private Secretary to the Vice- 
roy. He was the first to introduce into 
the drama subjects wholly Mexican in char- 
acter, and his influence in this respect upon 
succeeding Mexican dramatists has been 
considerable. 

Galve, Count of. See Silva y Men- 

DOZA. 

Qalvez (gdl'vdfh), Bernardo de, Count 
of Galvez, 48th viceroy of New Spain (1785- 
1786) and son of the previous viceroy, 
Matias de Galvez, had distinguished him- 
self as a warrior during the administration 



GALVEZ 



2260 



GRASSHOPPER 



of the Marquis of Croix, when he accom- 
panied the miHtary expedition to Florida, 
in consequence of which he was appointed 
governor of Cuba, from whence he was 
called to New Spain to fill the chief execu- 
tive office. He was a peculiarly fascinating 
man, just and honest,, and he won the 
reputation of being the most popular of all 
the viceroys up to his time. A heavy frost 
killed the crops during the first year of his 
administration, and the viceroy exerted all 
his powers and resources to help the thou- 
sands of suffering people and he was seconded 
by the Archbishop of Mexico and the 
church generally, half a million Spanish 
dollars being taken from the ecclesiastical 
treasury for this purpose. On account of 
the depression in commercial centers there 
was little work, and this made the suffer- 
ing of the masses more intense. To relieve 
this condition of affairs the viceroy under- 
took the rebuilding of the Castle of Cha- 
pultepec and various other public works 
of an important nature. He died while 
in office, in Tacubaya, a suburb of the 
Capital. 

Galvez, Marquis of. See Mendoza y 

PiMENTEL. 

Galvez (gdl'vdth), Matias de, president 
of Guatemala and 47th viceroy of New 
Spain (17S3-1784), was just, kind and good- 
hearted and gave encouragement to the 
liberal arts and to education generally. 
Through his influence the Academy of Noble 
Arts in Mexico City was endowed with more 
liberal funds by the king of Spain, and was 
thus enabled to do better work. He also 
sought and obtained permission to protect 
and improve the forest of Chapultepec and 
the castle on the summit of the hill of the 
same name, which is now the official resi- 
dence of the president of the republic. 

Garcia Guerra, Fray. See Guerra, 
Fray Garcia. 

Garcia Real, Marquis of. See Salazar, 
Pedro Castro Figueroa. 

Garisbay {gdr-es'bd), Pedro, 56th vice- 
roy of New Spain (1S0S-1809), was an old 
soldier who had worked his way up from 
the militia. He was the choice of the 
oidores who deposed the preceding viceroy 
(See Iturrigaray). His position was a 
peculiar one. While he claimed to be gov- 
erning New Spain in the name of Fernando 
VII, he in reality obeyed the commands of 
the oidores. He collected all the money he 
could in Mexico and sent it to Spain. Dur- 
ing his administration the revolutionary 
idea made rapid headway in New Spain, 
owing to the unsettled condition in the 
mother country, and the viceroy had to be 
constantly on his guard to protect the 
interests of the Spanish crown in Mexico. 
Lie. Verdad, one of the first promoters of 
the independence of Mexico, was arrested, 
charged with plotting against the Spanish 
government, thrown into prison and mur- 



dered there by the prison authorities. See 
Verdad. 

Gaston de Peralta. See Peralta. 

Gonzalez {gun-sa'lds), Manuel, president 
of Mexico (1880-18S4), had been a brave 
and successful general during the wars 
which preceded and followed the overthrow 
of the empire under Maximilian; but he 
proved an inefficient chief executive, and 
the country advanced very little during his 
administration, the chief events of which 
were, the "nickel riots" (1S83); uprisings 
in various parts of the country over an 
unpopular plan of the government to settle 
the English debt of Mexico; the opening of 
the Mexican Railway and the failure of the 
Monte de Piedad. The "nickel riots" were 
an uprising of the populace of Mexico in 
protest against the issuing of nickel coins 
and the temporary suspension of the Monte 
de Piedad was occasioned by the govern- 
ment drawing heavily upon its reserve fund. 

Gorostiza (gor'os-tes'd), Manuel Edu= 
ardo de (17S9-1851), the best of all the 
earlier dramatists of Mexico. He follows 
the romantic Spanish school of drama; his 
plots are skilfully worked out, his situa- 
tions excellent and his characters well 
drawn. He has a store of philosophy which 
runs through all his dramas; yet it is not 
intruded in such a way as to detract from 
the popularity of his plays. Although a 
Mexican born, most of his dramas were 
written in Spain and first presented upon 
the Spanish stage, where he was very pop- 
ular in his day and where his coinpositions 
are still produced side by side with the 
masters of the earlier Spanish drama. 

Granaditas, Alhondiga de. See Alhon- 

DIGA. 

Granados (grdn-d'ihos), Enrique Fer- 
nandez (1S66-1 ), one of the leaders of 
the modern classical 
school of literature in 
l\Iexico. He has de- 
voted all of his atten- 
tion to poetry and to 
translations from 
Italian and French, 
in both of which he 
has shown purity of 
style, facility of versi- 
fication, melody and 
rhythmical qualities 
possessed by few of 
the modern writers in 
Mexico. His pub- 
lished works consist 
of two vo 1 u m e s, 
Myrtles and Daisies. 
In addition to these 
he has published several small booklets, all 
exquisitely printed on fine paper showing the 
taste of the author even in these small 
details. 

Grasshopper, Hill of the. See Cha- 
pultepec Castle. 




ENRIQUE FERNANDEZ 
GRANADOS 



GRUA TALAMANCA 



2261 



GUEMES PACHECO DE PADILLA 



Qrua Talamanca {groo'a tdl'd-mdn'kd), 
Miguel La, Marquis of Branciforte, 52nd 
viceroy of New Spain (i 794-1 798), was an 
Italian by birth, but intimately related to 
noble Spanish families. He left a very un- 
savory reputation behind him. It is asserted 
that he sold the offices, from the highest to 
the lowest in his gift in New Spain, that he 
persecuted the French in the province, and 
that the few who were allowed to remain 
in the country were enabled to do so only 
by buying the friendship of the viceroy. 
He made a pretext of the war with the 
French nation to confiscate the property of 
all the French subjects in New Spain. He 
re-established the rural militia, which had 
been previously abolished (See Guemes 
Pacheco) and he did his best to cast dis- 
honor upon his predecessor in office, the 
famous Count of Revillagigedo. 

Quadalcazar, Marquis of. See Fer- 
nandez DE .Cordoba. 

Guadalupe Hidalgo {gwd' dd-l5d' pd 
e-ddl'go), a village some three miles to the 
north of Mexico City, which is of importance 
because there is the shrine of Our Lady of 
Guadalupe, the patroness of Mexico, and 
the most popular saint on the American 
continents. In pre-Columbian times the 
site of the present village was the home of 
the Aztec goddess, Tonantzin (the mother 
of Gods and Men). A causeway connected 
the shrine through the lake, which then 
covered this part of the valley, with 
Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). See Our 
Lady of Guadalupe. 

Guadalupe, Island of. See p. 808. 

Guadalupe (gwd'dd-ldd'pd) , Our Lady of, 
the patron saint of Mexico. Hers is the 
most widely venerated shrine on the Amer- 
ican continent: In the year 1531, it is 
asserted that the Virgin Mary appeared 
four separate times to a poor Indian by the 
name of Juan Diego from Cuatitlan, a 
neighboring village, and urged him to go 
to the Archbishop of Mexico and tell him 
that she wished erected upon the hill of 
Tepeyac a temple to be dedicated to her 
worship. The bishop demanded proofs of 
what Juan Diego told him. So the Indian 
went back to the Virgin, who told him to 
come the next day and he should have the 
desired proofs; but his uncle being sick at 
home, Juan was not able to keep his appoint- 
ment. On December 12 he was hurrying to 
Mexico for medicine and a priest, when the 
Virgin met him, told him not to fear, for 
his uncle would get well, and bade him 
pluck some roses from the hill. This he 
did and wrapped them in his zerape and 
took them to the Archbishop. When the 
zerape was opened in the presence of the 
Archbishop, a wonderful picture was found 
imprinted upon it. So the Archbishop 
ordered a chapel to be built upon the top 
of the hill, where the shrine of Guadalupe 
stands todav. 



The fame of this shrine grew rapidly and 
soon pilgrims came from all parts of Mexico 
to worship there. The banner of Our Lady 
of Guadalupe became the standard of the 
revolutionary party in 18 10, and this en- 
deared the saint more to the Mexican people, 
who were inclined to look upon her as their 
Savior from the rule of the Spaniard. There 
is scarcely a day throughout the whole year 
now that a party of pilgrims may not be 
found at Guadalupe. Often they come in 
droves of from five hundred to several 
thousand, under the leadership of one or 
more priests and sometimes they remain a 
week at the Holy City. 

Throughout the month of December the 
Villa de Guadalupe is thronged with people 
of all classes; but on December 12, Our 
. Lady's saint's day, the place is so packed 
with people that it is almost impossible to 
make one's way through the streets. 

Guanajuato. See p. 809. 

Guaymas (gwt'mds), the most important 
seaport town in the state of Sonora, Mexico. 
It is situated upon the gulf of the same 
name, which looks out upon the Gulf of 
Lower California. The port is famous for 
its oysters, which are shipped to all parts 
of the Republic of Mexico and exported to 
Europe and Asia. The town, which con- 
tains about 10,000 inhabitants, is situated 
upon a land-locked bay, with high hills 
almost in the foreground. For this reason 
it is one of the warmest places on the 
Pacific coast of Mexico in the summer 
months; but when the wet months pass it 
is more agreeable. It is the terminus of 
the Sonora Railway and several lines of 
coast steamers call at the port. Therefore, 
most of the important port towns on the 
Pacific coast of Mexico can be reached 
from Guaymas. 

Guemes Pacheco de Padilla '{gwd' mas 
pd-chd'ko dd pd-del'yd), Juan Vicente de. 
Count of Revillagigedo, 51st viceroy of New 
Spain and second of this title, one of the 
most notable governors of New Spain (1789— 
1794). He was untiring in his efforts to 
improve the police service, which had fallen 
to a very low condition at the time of his 
arrival in Mexico. He pursued tenaciously 
and with all the vigor of the law thieves, 
highwaymen and criminals of all classes, 
visited incognito frequently various parts of 
the city until he became known as the 
Haroun al Raschid of New Spain. He had 
the streets of the Capital paved, new 
avenues opened up, a perfect system of 
night watchmen inaugurated, the city 
lighted at night and established a semi- 
weekly postal service between the capitals 
of the various states. He interested him- 
self greatly in the arts, sciences and educa- 
tion in general and he had a chair in anatomy 
established in the hospital for Indians in 
the Capital. He encouraged the study of 
botany, geography and history, especially 



GUEMES Y HORCASITAS 



2262 GUZMAN SOTOMAYOR Y MEXDOZA 



that referring to ancient Mexico and the 
eadier races which populated what was 
then known as New Spain. After careful 
investigation into the military affairs of the 
province he resolved to do away with the 
native militia, which he believed was not 
worth the money, time and attention which 
had necessarily to be given to it; what the 
country required, he claimed, was regularly 
trained soldiers which the native militia 
seemed unable to give. He interested him- 
self greatly in the building of good roads 
throughout the country, which he claimed 
were a necessity for the peace, progress and 
commercial prosperity of New Spain, among 
the highways which he promoted being that 
to Toluca. the capital of the state of Mex- 
ico, and those to the gulf port of Veracruz 
and the Pacific port of Acapulco. He was 
a man of sound judgment, methodical mind 
and a vast capacity for work. These qual- 
ities made him the terror of evildoers, the 
despair of the indolent and slow occupants 
of government positions and the admira- 
tion of ambitious young men whom he pro- 
moted rapidly, as soon as he found them 
earnest and capable. 

Giiemes y Horcasitas {gwd'mas e or'kci- 
se'tds), Juan Francisco, Count of Revil- 
lagigedo, 40th viceroy of New Spain (1746- 
1755), had been governor of Cuba previous 
to coming to Mexico. He established the 
fort of Horcasitas in Sonora to keep the 
Apaches in check, established many fam- 
ilies of Spaniards and Mexicans in the 
northern part of the country as a check 
against the half-civilized Indians and he 
removed the station of the Spanish fleet of 
the Indies from Mexico to Habana. The 
famous Bolanos mines then became knowa 
as rich producers of the precious metals and 
that district became populous. As a result 
of the order sent out by a previous vice- 
roy (See Cebrian y Agustin) to collect 
statistical information relating to New 
Spain, the following data concerning the 
City of Mexico, is of interest: The Capital 
was then composed of "50,000 families of 
Spaniards, Europeans and Creoles (descen- 
dants of pure Spanish blood born in New 
Spain), 40,000 families of mestizos and 
8,000 native Indians." 

Querra {gdr'rd), Fray Garcia, arch- 
bishop of Mexico and 12th viceroy of New 
Spain (1611— 1612), made an elaborate report 
upon the construction of the drainage 
works of the Valley of Mexico, in which he 
expressed the opinion that the plans then 
being pursued would not secure the object 
that the execution of the works had in 
view. During his administration a terrible 
earthquake visited Mexico, destroying many 
buildings in the Capital and in other places 
throughout the country. 

Guerrero (gar-rd'ro), one of the southern 
states of Mexico, bordering on the Pacific 
Ocean and the states of Michoacan, Morelos, 



Mexico, Puebla and Oaxaca, has an area of 
24,900 square miles. It is traversed by the 
Sierra Madre Mountains, which throw the 
greater part of the state into the Pacific 
slope. It is one of the' most mountainous 
divisions of Mexico and contains vast min- 
eral deposits, which are as yet but slightly 
developed. It contains many smaller rivers 
and streams capable of developing much 
motor power, but most of them unfit for 
navigation. Of these the largest are the 
Ometepec, Papagayo, Las Balsas, and Mis- 
teco. Agriculture, cattle raising and min- 
ing are the chief industries of the state. 
The chief cities are Chilpancingo, the cap- 
ital, Chilapa, Tixtla and Acapulco (the 
chief seaport). Three branches of the 
National Railways traverse the state. 

Guerrero {gdr-rd'ro), Julio (1862- ), 
author of the Genesis of Crime in Mexico, 
is one of the profoundest thinkers that the 
republic has produced; and few works have 
been written in any country more worthy 
of serious attention than this analy.sis of 
the social conditions of the Mexican people, 
Guerrero has written other works of a like 
nature, all thoughtful, and showing careful 
study, investigation and power of drawing 
accurate deductions. 

Guerrero (gdr-rd'rd) , Gen. Vicente, one 
of the most prominent revolutionary leaders 
in Mexican history. When the cause of 
independence was on the wane in 1816, 
Guerrero took to the mountains and from 
there carried on guerrilla warfare, which 
kept alive the revolution for the succeed- 
ing five years. He was bom in Tixtla in 
17S2. His parents were farmers in very 
poor circumstances, and so the boy was 
forced to make his way in the world with- 
out other help than his own native energy 
and talent. He joined the army of Hidalgo 
in 1 8 1 o and he continued to struggle for the 
independence of his country until Spanish 
dominion was finally overthrown in 1821. 
He was in many battles and he did more 
to organize the revolutionary forces, when 
the cause of independence was seeing its 
darkest hours, than any other man. Even 
when things were at their worst he was 
always hopeful and resourceful. For this 
reason he is considered one of the greatest 
figures in Mexican history. In 1821 he 
joined Iturbide in the Plan de Iguala, and 
the two great leaders swept everything be- 
fore them in a few months, thus winning 
the independence of Mexico. He was a 
member of the first provisional government 
which governed the country after the over- 
throw of the Spanish power in New Spain; 
and later on he held various high offices in 
his native country, all of which he filled 
with ability and zeal for the public welfare. 
His tomb is in the Pantheon of San Fer- 
nando in Mexico City. 

Guzman Sotomayor y Mendoza, Bal= 
tasar de Zuniga. See Zuniga Guzman. 



HARO Y PER ALT A 



2263 



HIPOLITO 



H 



Haro y Peralta, Alonzo Nunez de. 

See Nunez de Haro. 

Hernandez de Cordoba. See Cordoba, 
Hernandez de. 

Hidalgo {e-ddl'go), one of the central 
states of Mexico, situated, on the upland 
plateau and bordering on the states of San 
Luis Potosi, Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala, 
Mexico and Queretaro, has an area of 8,100 
square miles. The climate varies from cold 
in the higher mountain regions to quite 
warm on the gulf side where a part of the 
state slopes to the east down to the borders 
of the hotlands. The state is well supplied 
with railways, being traversed by the Na- 
tional Lines of Mexico and the Hidalgo and 
Northeastern, all of which connect it with 
Mexico City. The chief industries of the 
state are mining and agriculture, the out- 
put of the former being yearly over $7,000,- 
000. The chief cities are Pachuca, the capi- 
tal and most noted mining center, Tula, 
Tulancingo and Zimapan. See Tula. 

Hidalgo y Costilla {e-ddl'go e kos-te'yd) , 
Miguel, the father of Mexican indepen- 
dence (17 53-181 1), was, at the time that 
he appears prominently in history, the 
curate of the parish church of Dolores, a 
little town not far from Guanajuato, Mex- 
ico. He was a man of wide reading and 
very liberal in his ideas. Thoroughly Mex- 
ican at heart, though of Spanish blood, he 
longed for the freedom of his native coun- 
try from the rule of Spain. This desire 
was increased by his reading of French 
literature, which was, at this time, filled 
with the new thought engendered by the 
French revolution. So he gathered about 
him in Dolores a few kindred spirits, who 
met to discuss plans for the betterment of 
their country at a so-called literary and 
scientific society. There plans, it is said, 
were laid, for an uprising of the Indians 
and others favorable to the cause of inde- 
pendence. But they were discovered be- 
fore the conspirators were ready to act. 
Hidalgo was informed that the government 
was about to seize him and his friends; so 
he decided upon an immediate call to arms 
that night, Sept. 15, 1810. A few of the 
conspirators were called together about 11 
o'clock at night and plans were laid for an 
uprising that same morning. People were 
called to early mass by the church bell; 
from the pulpit Hidalgo proclaimed the 
revolution, the prisoners in Dolores were 
liberated, arms were seized, all the Span- 
iards in the place were secured and put 
under lock and key, and, with this small 
force, Hidalgo began his famous march to- 
ward the Capital of the republic. Hidalgo 



was commander in chief of the revolutionary 
army and AUende (Ignacio), a captain of 
dragoons who deserted with most of his 
regiment from the Spanish army in Mexico, 
was made Lieutenant-General and Aldama 
and Abasolo, officers under AUende, were 
made staff officers. At Atotonilco Hidalgo 
took from the little church there a banner 
upon which was printed a picture of Our 
Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of Mex- 
ico, thus giving the movement a religious 
as well as a political feature; and the ever- 
increasing multitude of insurgents marched 
toward Guanajuato to the cry: "Long live 
religion! Long live our Holy Mother of 
Guadalupe! Hurrah for America and down 
with bad government!" The march was 
necessarily slow. In five days the insurgent 
army had reached Celaya, when it num- 
bered 50,000 men; five days later, when it 
had reached Guanajuato, it numbered prob- 
ably twice as many. After a terrible fight 
and slaughter, the city was captured and 
most of the inhabitants butchered by the 
undisciplined hordes of Hidalgo. The city 
government was reorganized and the place 
made the capital of the new political power. 
On Oct. 10 the revolutionary army began 
its march to Valladolid (Morelia), which it 
reached eight days later, and captured with- 
out opposition. After establishing officers 
of his own in Valladolid, Hidalgo began 
his march upon the city of Mexico, by way 
of Toluca, the Capital of the state of Mex- 
ico. At Monte de las Cruces, which is on 
the heights overlooking the Valley of 
Mexico, the revolutionists met and defeated 
the Spanish army in a struggle noted for 
its bitterness and the heavy losses on both 
sides (Oct. 30, 1810). In sight of the 
Capital of the country, the armies of Spain 
defeated and the whole governing force of 
the country demoralized, Hidalgo decided 
to retreat. This was the most memorable 
event of the whole campaign; for, in all 
probability, it put off the independence of 
the country 11 years. Then followed one 
disaster after another until finally Hidalgo 
with AUende and others of his officers were 
captured at Acatita de Bejan in Coahuila, 
March 21, 181 1, and taken to Monclova 
and from there to Chihuahua, where they 
were tried, condemned and shot, July 
30, 1811. 

Hill of the Bells. See Cerro de las 
Campanas. 

Hill of the Grasshopper. See Cha- 
PULTEPEC Castle. 

Hipolito {e-poV e-to') , San, a church and 
hospital for the insane, both of ancient 
foundation and historical interest in Mexico 



HIPOLITOS 



2264 



ICAZBALCETA 



City. The church was built close to the 
spot where so many Spaniards and their 
allies lost their lives on the retreat from 
the city on the "sad night," July i, 1520, 
which event it was intended to commem- 
orate. The hospital, Avhich is on the same 
street and but a short distance away, was 
founded some years later (1567), as an 
annex to the church, as an institution to 
look after the poor and helpless sick, by 
a Spanish merchant by the name of Ber- 
nardin Alvarez. In 1700 the "Brothers of 
Charity," known popularly as the "Ilipo- 
litos," a purely Mexican order, but having 
the sanction of the Pope, became legally 
organized and bound by vows to devote 
their lives to looking after the sick and 
the infirm, especially those in care of their 
own order and hospital. About this time 
San Hipolito hospital decided to devote 
its energies and resources entirely to the 
insane, of which there were many then in 
Mexico. Since that day this institution 
has remained an insane asylum, and the 
most important of its kind in Mexico. So 
generally is this refuge known throughout 
the country, that to invite one to go to 
San Hipolito is equivalent to saying that 
he is foolish or insane. 

Hipolitos. See Hipolito, San. 

Horcasitas, Juan Francisco Quemes y. 
See GuEMEs y Horcasitas. 

Huitzilopochtli (wet'se-lo-pdsht'le),' the 
famous god of war of the ancient Aztecs. 
To him , the greatest temples of this race 
were erected, and on his altars thousands 
of human victims were sacrificed. At the 
dedication of the great temple upon the 
Plaza Mayor of Mexico City (then called 
Tenochtitlan) it is gravely asserted by his- 
torians that the incredible number of 80,- 
000 captives were sacrificed by order of 
the then reigning emperor, Axayacatl, upon 
the altars of the war god. See Axayacatl. 

Huitzilihuitl {wet'se-le'wetT) (Feathers 
of the Hummingbird), second king of Mex- 



ijo (1389-1409), was son of Acamapitzin, 
During his reign the Mexicans began a 
career of conquest, which was practically 
never interrupted until the advent of the 
Spanish army under Cortes in 15 18. Huit- 
zilihuitl combined many of the qualities of 
a great ruler; he was a diplomat, an organ- 
izer, a warrior and a successful leader of 
inen; he made a friend of the king of Atz- 
capotzalco by marrying his daughter and 
thus made the Mexican people practically 
the allies of that nation, to which they had 
been subject up to this time; and a war 
which Huitzilihuitl undertook in union with 
Atzcapotzalco against the Acolhuas, which 
the allies defeated, brought much honor 
and respect to the Mexicans, who thus 
secured an alliance with Atxcapotzcalco 
upon honorable terms. From this time on 
tlie advancement of Mexico was rapid. The 
city began to erect substantial buildings of 
stone, to manufacture fine cotton garments 
and to extend their trade in fish, which 
they caught in Lake Texcoco, to all the 
lands bordering on the lake shore. As the 
inhabitants of the city had outgrown the 
size of their island home they began to 
build great rafts of wood upon which they 
made the famous "chinampas" (floating 
gardens). In a short time hundreds of 
Aztecs were living upon these rafts and 
cultivating vegetables which found a ready 
sale in Tenochtitlan (Mexico) and in the 
cities and towns along the shores of the 
lake. A war with Atzcapotzalco and an- 
other with Coyoacan both increased the 
reputation of the Mexicans, who began, by 
this time to be both feared and respected 
by all the neighboring nations and tribes. 
Huitzilihuitl was the first great law-giver 
of the Mexicans during their residence in 
the A^alley of Mexico; he policed the city 
of Tenochtitlan and encouraged trade and 
commerce. 

Hummingbird, Feathers of the. See 
Huitzilihuitl. 



I 



Icaza {e-kds'a), Francisco A. de (1S63- 
), poet, essayist and diplomat, a writer 
of correct and sonorous prose and verse, 
and one of the best diplomats in the service 
of his country, which he has served in 
various capacities. He belongs more to the 
classical school than to the modern romantic 
movement, to which Mexico owes the 
larger number of her most talented literary 



men of first rank. He has been more under 
Spanish than Mexican influence; this is no 
doubt due to the fact that he spent con- 
siderable time in Spain as secretary to the 
Mexican legation at Madrid. Since then he 
has been Mexican minister to Belgium and 
is now Mexican ambassador at Washington. 
Icazbalceta {e-kds'bdl-sd'td), Joaquin 
Garcia (182 5-1849), a Mexican poet and 



IGUATZIO 



2265 



ITURRIGARAY 



historian of great talent, industry and 
erudition. He collected together a vast 
number of documents of a very interesting 
and valuable nature, the titles of which 
collections are indicative of their nature, 
viz. : A Collection of Documents for the 
History of Mexico and A New Collection of 
Documents for the History of Mexico. Many 
of these were almost-forgotten writings, but 
invaluable as shedding light upon the 
obscurer periods in Mexican history; others 
documents which throw broadly forth the 
characters of makers of Mexican history, 
the importance of events in the develop- 
ment of the country, politically and socially. 
He also wrote xAn Ecclesiastical History of 
the Indies; Spiritual and Sacred Colloquies; 
Mexico in 1554. 

Iguatzio {e-gwdts' e-o) , a little town in the 
state of Michoacan, Mexico, noted for its 
many ancient ruins and reinains of archae- 
ological interest. Here are to be found 
idols, pottery and other carved and manu- 
factured articles of very ancient make, a 
pyramid, prehistoric roads, buildings, fort- 
ress, walls and underground passages, which 
probably belonged to a race antedating the 
Indians now living there. 

IlhuicaiTiina. See Montezuma I. 

Indio Triste (en'de-o tres'td) (The Sad 
Indian), a sculptured stone figure of an 
Indian, almost life size, in the National 
Museum in Mexico City. It has given its 
name to the street in which it was found. 
This figure is of interest on account of the 
many references to it found in Mexican 
literature. It is supposed to have been 
one of the two sculptured candle or torch 
bearers upon the turrets of the great temple 
of the war god, Huitzilopochtli, in M'.,xico 
City. Its present name was probably 
populai-ly given to it on account of its 
peculiar half-crouched position. 

Inquisition in Mexico, The. Shortly 
after the Spanish conquest the power of the 
Inquisition began to make itself felt in 
New Spain, and in 1529 the archbishop and 
the heads of the A^arious church founda- 
tions in the Capital, supported by the city 
council, extended an invitation to the head 
of the Spanish Inquisition to extend the 
order to Mexico. As a result, "visitors" 
were sent to Mexico until 1570, bringing 
with them inquisitorial powers, when Pedro 
Moya de Contreras, was appointed In- 
quisitor General of New Spain, Guatemala 
and the Philippines. He opened his office 
in the chief building of the Dominicans, -who 
ever afterwards were the strongest sup- 
porters of the Inquisition in the New 
World. But the erection of a special build- 
ing for the "Holy Office" was begun in 
1732 and completed in 1736. The Burning 
Place, where those condemned to death by 
the Holy Office, were executed, was estab- 
lished on the west side of what is now the 
Alameda, and directly in front of the 



church of San Diego; and the first burning 
took place in 1574, when 21 victims per- 
ished. On June 8, 1813, the Inquisition 
was abolished in New Spain, and all prop- 
erty belonging to the order confiscated to 
the crown of Spain. But it was re-estab- 
lished in Mexico the following year, where 
it continued to exercise its powers until 
May 31, 1820, when it was finally abolished, 
Among the victims of the Inquisition was 
the famous patriot priest, Morelos, who was 
condemned by that body on No-". 26, 181 5, 
turned over to the secular authorities and 
shot a month later. 

Inquisitor, The. See Almanza. 

Iturbide (e'tddr-be'thd), Agustin de (See 
Guerrero), a noted soldier v/ho, after 
spending years in the services of the Spanish 
king, principally in Mexico, went over to 
the side of the revolutionists, became a 
popular hero, and succeeded in having him- 
self elected emperor of Mexico under the 
title of Agustin I. He was born in Morelia, 
then called Valladolid, Sept. 27, 1873, of 
mixed blood, his father being a Spaniard 
and his mother a Mexican. His advance- 
ment in the Spanish army was rapid, for 
he showed undoubted military genius. On 
the failure of the Pan of Iguala, Iturbide 
saw his opportunity, which he pushed with 
his boundless ambition; and the Mexican 
people proclaimed him emperor May 19, 
1822. But soon troubles began in the ranks 
of the uncompromising republicans, and 
Iturbide was forced to resign (March 20, 
1823) and leave the country. From Europe: 
he watched the trend of events at home- 
He was constantly in com^munication with, 
friends in Mexico. Misled by their reports 
he set out from London for Mexico in July, 
1824, to help, as he stated it, to fight for 
the independence of his country. Imme- 
diately upon his landing at Soto la Marina, 
Tamaulipas, he was seized by the military 
commander of that state, tried and pro- 
nounced a traitor, and, as such, condemned 
to death. Five days later he was executed 
at Padilla. Thus perished he whom all 
Mexico, but two years previously, had pro- 
claimed "The Liberator." See Pl.a.n de 
Iguai^a. 

Iturrigaray {e-toor're-gdr't), Jose de, 
55th viceroy of New Spain (1803-1808), 
gave much attention to the improvement 
of public works, completed some half fin- 
ished and built others completely. During 
his administration the famous scholar. 
Baron Von Humboldt, spent considerable 
Lime in Mexico collecting the material for 
the works which were afterwards to make 
his reputation asa scholar and an authority 
on Mexico. 

On Sept. 15, x8o8, headed by Gabriel de 
Yermo, a rich land owner, many Spaniards 
and the oidores of the court in New Spain 
raised a revolution and deposed the viceroy, 
who supported the cause of the exiled 



JALISCO 



2267 



LAS CASAS 



Jalisco (hd-les'ko) , commercially the most 
important state in Mexico, partially sit- 
uated on the upland plateau and partially 
on the Pacific slope, which gives it all 
varieties of climate. It borders on the 
states of Durango, Zacatecas, Tepic, Aguas- 
calientes, Guanajuato, Michoacan, Colima 
and the Pacific Ocean. Area 31,850 square 
miles. Principal products: Brandy, sugar, 
corn, wheat, tobacco, valuable woods, 
fruits and minerals. Agriculturally it is 
the richest state in the republic, and it is 
one of the most notable cattle-raising dis- 
tricts. It is well watered, its principal 
rivers being Tuscacuesco, Ameca, Santiago, 



Verde, Bolafios and Juchipila. To the east 
of this state is the most important lake 
region in Mexico (See Lakes of Mexico). 
The principal cities are: Guadalajara, the 
capital of the state and the second largest 
city in the republic, Lagos and Ciudad 
Guzman. The National Railways of Mex- 
ico connect Jalisco with the Capital. 

Javier de Lianza, Francisco. See 



de 



Lianza. 

Javier 
Venegas. 

Jesuits, 
Carlos de. 

Juarez, Benito 



Venegas, Francisco. See 
Expulsion of. See Croix, 
See pp. 981 and 12 17. 



K 



Kukulkan (kdo-kdol-kdn') , a successful 
leader of the ancient Indians of Yucatan, 
whom time raised into a demi-god. He is 
said to have taught his people practically 
all they knew of the arts ^and industries 
and to have placed them among the 



most civilized of ancient Mexico. Like 
Quetzalcoatl (the Fair God), when he 
was forced to leave Yucatan, he prom- 
ised to return some day and again rule 
over the country. See Hiawatha and 
Quetzalcoatl. 



Laguna Madre (Id-gdo'nd md'drd), La, a 
large long shallow lagoon forming an inlet of 
the Gulf of Mexico and running down half the 
eastern coast of the state of Tamaulipas in 
the republic of Mexico. Considerable traffic 
is done over it in srfiall boats by the native 
Indians of the state. 

Lakes, The, of Mexico are neither ex- 
tensive in size nor in number. The high 
elevation of the great tablelands, which 
stretch from the United States border to 
far south of Mexico City, and the rapid 
descent from these to the coast, coupled 
with the rapid evaporation engendered by 
the heat of the tropical lands, make the 
accumulation of great bodies of water much 
less probable than in fiat and colder coun- 
tries. In the states of Jalisco and Michoacan 
is a very picturesque lake region, which is 
more famous and more visited than any 
other in Mexico. Of the numerous lakes 



and lakelets found there, the three most 
important are Chapala, which is 80 miles 
long by 30 miles wide, and Patzcuaro, and 
Cuitzeo, somewhat less known. In the 
Valley of Mexico are several lakes, more 
noted for their historical associations than 
for their size or importance. Of these the 
most important are Texcoco, Xochimilco, 
Chalco, Zumpango and San Cristobal. _ The 
Lake of Caimen, some 30 miles long, in the 
Valley of the Bolson, is surrounded by 
many picturesque little lakelets. Most of 
the other lakes credited to Mexico are 
inlets from the oceans or from the Gulf of 
Mexico. 

La Laguna, Marquis of, and Count of 
Paredes. See Cerda, Thomas Antonio 
Manrique de la. 

Las Casas (Ids-kds'ds) , Bartolome de 
one of the early missionaries in Mexico, 
shortly after the Spanish conquest, was 



LAS CRUCES 



2268 



LOWER CALIFORXLV 



created bishop of Chiapas in 1544. Most 
of his hfe, while in Mexico, was spent in 
protecting the Indians against the cruelties 
of the Spaniards. And he succeeded in 
having a number of excellent laws passed 
in their behalf. He was made "Protector 
General of the Indians," in whose behalf 
he had already labored many years. He 
died in Madrid in 1566, at the age of 92. 
His most famous work is his History of 
the Indies, a book that gives a wonderful 
insight into the result of Spanish rule in 
the Xew World. 

Las Cruces. See Hidalgo. 

Laso de la Vega (Id' so da Id vd'gd), 
Melchor Portocarrero, Count of Mon- 
clova, 28th viceroy of New Spain (1686- 
16S8), known as "Silver-arm," on account 
of his having his right arm made of silver, 
reduced to submission the Indians of Coa- 
huila, established a strong garrison in their 
territory and founded the town of Mon- 
clova. On his retirement from New Spain 
he was sent as viceroy to Peru. 

Leiva y de La Ccrda {Id'e-vd e dd Id 
sdr'dd), Juan de Marquis de Leiva y Lad- 
rada and Count of Banos, 22nd viceroy of 
New Spain (i 660-1 664), began again the 
suspended work of the drainage of the 
Valley of Mexico, was energetic in the 
propagation of the Christian religion to 
such an extent that 24 towns and villages 
"professed the faith." On account of the 
bad conduct of his sons, who made them- 
selves very unpopular, he resigned his office 
and returned to Spain where he entered 
the Carmelite order and retired to the 
seclusion of the monastery. During his 
administration the Tehuantepec Indians 
rose against the government; but they were 
finally induced to submit to the authority 
of Spain through the influence of Bishop 
Alonso de Cuevas y Davalos of Oaxaca, 
who, on account of the valuable aid thus 
rendered the government, was made Arch- 
bishop of Mexico. During this adminis- 
tration considerable territory was captured 
from the Indians and added to New 
Spain. 

Leon (Id-on'), a city of 100,000 inhab- 
itants, on the line of the Central division 
of the National Lines of Mexico, in the 
state of Guanajuato, at an elevation of 5,865 
feet above sea level, is an important com- 
mercial center 260 miles from Mexico City. 
It produces leather, woolen and cotton 
goods, cutlery, soap, carriages and imple- 
ments of various kinds. It is also the 
center of an important local trade. Leon 
was founded in 1552. 

Lianza {le-dn'sd) , Francisco Javier de, 
archbishop and 57th viceroy of New Spain 
( 1 809-1 8 10), had been instrumental in 
deposing the previous viceroy, Iturrigaray, 
no doubt fro.m conscientious motives; but 
he was afterw-ards sorry for his action when 
he saw how events were moving in New 



Spain. His whole administration was a 
struggle to obtain money to forward to the 
court of Spain to aid in the defense of that 
country against the French. At one time 
he sent $2,000,000 in addition to sums col- 
lected by the sale of the properties of 
several persons of wealth convicted of 
treasonable practices or tendencies; and he 
tried in vain to collect the sum of $20,000,- 
000 more s-oted by the central committee 
as a contribution from New Spain for the 
defense of the mother country. He com- 
])lained that already in addition to the 
money sent officially by Mexico to the 
court of Spain, over $10,000,000 more had 
been taken out of the country for the same 
purpose, through confiscated property men- 
tioned above. This excessive drain of the 
wealth of the country stirred tip a strong 
feeling in New Spain against the Spaniards 
and Spanish rule. Notwithstanding the 
efforts made by the viceroy to help the 
court, a feeling gained ground that he was 
not a strong enough character to cope with 
the pronounced revolutionary sentiment in 
New Spi^n and his eneinies succeeded in 
having him removed from office. 

Liberty Bell. See Palacio Muni- 
cipal. 

Linares, Duke of. See Noroxa y 

SiLVA. 

Lizardi {le-sdr'the), Jose Joaquin de 

(i 774-1827), the father of modern Mexican 
literature, was journalist, poet, novelist and 
political and social reformer of great influ- 
ence upon the destinies of his country, 
especially during the wars of independence 
(1810-1S21), He advocated popular educa- 
tion, independence of church and state, 
prison reform, and many other ideas in 
advance of his times, and some of which 
have not yet been carried out. His novel. 
El Periquillo Sarmiculo, has become a 
household word in Mexico, and is Con- 
sidered by many critics as the greatest 
novel v/ritten by any Mexican author. He 
wrote hundreds of political pamphlets, 
poems and reviews advocating the inde- 
pendence of Mexico from Spain, various 
reforms in addition to those already men- 
tioned, and depicted, in a powerful style, 
the abuses of the social fabric in his day. 
He lashed, with a merciless whip, the vices, 
indolence and want of public spirit of the 
lower, middle and upper classes. Much ot 
his terrible upbraiding of society is to be 
found in the Pcriqiiillo. Two others of his 
works which still continue to be published 
are Fables and Sad A^is^hts. 

Llorona, La. See I\Ialinche, La. 

Lord of Ixtapalapa. See Cuitlahuac. 

Lorenzo Juarez de Mendoza. See Mex- 
doza. 

Lower California, the most northern 
territory of Mexico, which borders on the 
United States to the north and lies between 
the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Cali- 



LUNA 



2269 



.MANRIQUE DE ZUNIGA 



foniia. To it belong politically most of the 
islands along its coast. Owing to its moun- 
tainous character, lack of rain and nvers 
and its dry and warm climate, the peninsula 
presents a semi-desert appearance. Fish- 
ing and mining are its principal industries; 



and its chief towns are La Paz, on the 
Gulf of California, its capital, Ensenada, 
Santa Rosalia and San Jose. Area 60,000 
square miles; population 150,000. 

Luna, Juan de Mendoza y. See Men- 

DOZA. 



M 



Malinche (md-len'chd). The, a fabled 
woman, much like the Greek syren, who 
has somewhat changing attributes m va- 
rious parts of Mexico. In some she is sup- 
posed to be kind, in others to have a never- 
ceasing desire to lure people to death. 
Even these malign powers she exercises in 
different ways, according to the part of the 
country from which the legend comes. In 
the state of Mexico she is accredited with 
singing the most beautiful songs which 
those who hear them cannot resist, and so 
they follow her only to fall into deep water 
where they are pulled to the bottom by 
the evil spirits who make their homes there. 
In other places it is the beauty of her 
face and form that attract, with like result. 
In the northern part of Mexico the Mahnche 
is known as "La Llorona" (she who cries). 
Here her modus operandi is somewhat 
different, for there she waylays some be- 
nighted traveler in some solitary place, and, 
as^he passes, she cries like a sick child in 
distress. The traveler follows in the direc- 
tion of the voice, only to sink into some 
hidden swamp, bog or quicksand. In the 
center of Mexico she is known as "La 
Rebosada" (the Woman who wears a Re- 
bosa or mantle). She appears, beautiful of 
form, her face hidden in her reboso, mys- 
tery about her every movement; and with 
her great power of attraction she lures the 
unwary to their death. In the south of 
Mexico she is supposed to make her home 
upon Mount Malinche, upon the _ top of 
which she appears, in the approaching eve- 
ning, when her wondrous beauty is lit up 
by °t'he level rays of the setting sun, and 
thus is rendered even more bewitching her 
power of attraction. She beckons, and he 
who sees her is forced to run toward her. 
Next day his dead body is found, mangled 
and torn as though by the claws of some 
savage beast, in the barranca, more than 
a thousand feet below. 

Mancera, Marquis of. See Toledo, 
Seb.^stian de. 

Manrique de Zuniga (mdn-rfka da 
soon'ye-gd'), Alvaro, Marquis of Villa Man- 



rique, 7th viceroy of New Spain (1585- 
1590). During his administration Sir 
Francis Drake plundered a number of 
towns along the Pacific coast of Mexico, 
and escaped with his booty. Zuniga did 
not get along with the other royal author- 
ities in Mexico, and civil war was about to 
break out, when the viceroy was recalled 
by order of Philip II. 

Manzanillo {mdn'sd-ne'yo) , an important 
seaport town in the state of Colima, on the 
Pacific coast of Mexico. As a port it has 
natural advantages which have been added 
to by expenditures of large sums of money 
by the Mexican government. All the 
Pacific coast steamers touching at Mexican 
ports call at Manzanillo, which is the 
seaport of Colima, the capital of the. 
state of the same name. Population 
5,000. 

Marina (md-re'nd) , La, a famous Indian 
woman, who, after the battle of Grijalva, 
was presented to the conqueror, Cortes, as 
a slave, while on his way to Mexico. She 
became his interpreter, constant com- 
panion, and the mother of Martin, his most 
noted son. She afterwards married one of 
Cortes' soldiers. She was a very beautiful 
woman, cunning and a good diplomat. On 
account of these qualities she was called 
by the Indians, "La Malinche". See 
Malinche, La. 

M.arquina (mdr-ke'nd), Felix de Ber= 
enguer, 54th viceroy of New Spain (1800- 
1803), arrived in Mexico with a strong feel- 
ing against him on account of illfounded 
reports which had preceded him_; but he 
succeeded in gaining the good will of _ the 
mass of the people. He carefully examined 
the treasury department and dictated cer- 
tain orders which much facilitated its work- 
ing, spent from his own private purse_ large 
sums for public improvements, prohibited 
bull fighting, negotiated an exchange of 
English for Spanish prisoners of the late 
war between England and Spain, who were 
in Mexico and Jamaica, increased the mili- 
tary forces in the Capital and made merci- 
less and unceasing war on the smugglers 



MATAMOROS 



2270 



ME R I DA 



who had, up to his time, done a thriving 
business in Xew Spain. 

Marquis de Falces. See Peralta. 

Alatamoros, Gen. A\ariano. Seep. 1187. 

Mateos (md-td'us), Juan A. (1841- ), 
a Mexican novehst and dramatic writer of 
strong imagination and great constructive 
ability. He is Mexican to the core, and 
all his plots and characters are Mexican. 
He was an^ong the first of the writers of 
his day to break away from imitations of 
French and Spanish authors. As an orator 
he was, at one time, unsurpassed in Mexico. 
Xo other modern dramatic author has had 
more success upon the stage than he, and 
his historical novels have had a wider sale 
than those of any of his fellow literary 
men. Among his novels which are still 
popular are: Priest and Leader; Tlie Hill 
of the Bells and The Insurgents. 

Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico. See 
pp. 981, 1191, 1217, 1239, 1675. 

Mayorga {md-ydr' gd) , Martin, 46th vice- 
roy of New Spain (i 779-1 783), had been 
president of Guatemala. During his admin- 
istration the English entered Guatemala, 
the result being that they were attacked in 
Belize by the Spaniards and a local war 
ensued, which the latter carried into 
Florida, recapturing Pensacola. The vice- 
roy made strenuous efforts to fortify Vera- 
cruz and other points leading to the Capital 
of New Spain, along the old coach road by 
way of Jalapa. On account of a very bad 
epidemic of smallpox, vaccination for its 
prevention was introduced into the country 
for the first time. 

Medina {md-de'nd), Bartolome de, is 
remembered for his invention in Pachuca 
in 1534 of the famous "patio process" for 
the amalgamation of silver ores, which was 
in constant use from that time until a few 
years ago throughout Mexico. In fact it 
is still employed in rural districts today in 
some old-fashioned mines. 

Mendoza (mdji-do'thd), Antonio de. Count 
of Tendilla, ist viceroy of New Spain 
(153 5-1 550), had been nominated to his 
office in 1530, but was not able to assume 
the duties belonging to it until five years 
later. He was an able and conscientious 
man and proved an excellent governor of 
Mexico, which was then in a very unsettled 
state. He put down several insurrections 
of the Indians, encouraged trade and com- 
merce, divided up the public lands of the 
newly-conquered country, was a patron of 
the arts, introduced silk culture into New 
Spain and did his best to protect the 
Indians from the abuses both of the Span- 
iards and of their own chiefs, and, under 
his protection, many mines were opened up. 
During his administration many monks and 
priests arrived in Mexico, some to teach the 
natives, others to expound the principles 
of the Christian religion and others to 
establish foundations of their orders. Men- 



doza was sent to Peru in 1550 by Charles 
V, who desired to have a capable man there, 
for that country was then in arms against 
the dominion of Spain. He died there in 

^552- 

Mendoza y Pimentel (mdn-do'thd e 
pe'mdn-tdl'), Diego Carrillo, Marquis of 
Galves (i 621— 1624), 15th viceroy of Xew 
Spain, improved and extended the scope of 
the teaching in the University of Mexico, 
organized the police and pursued the 
thieves and highway robbers until soon the 
public roads throughout the country were 
safe for travelers. He suspended the work 
of drainage of the Valley of Mexico and 
ordered the breaking down of a dyke, which 
resulted in the City of Mexico being once 
more inundated. A quarrel arose between 
the viceroy and the archbishop over the 
refuge given by the convent of Santo 
Domingo to a breaker of the law, which 
finally grew so bitter that the archbishop 
excominunicated the viceroy and pro- 
claimed an interdict. The populace made 
an uprising, burned the palace, destroyed 
the furniture and other property of "the 
\iceroy, and forced the latter to take refuge 
in the convent of San Francisco, where he 
remained hidden for several days. The 
nobles took a hand in the quarrel at this 
juncture and deposed the viceroy. The 
archbishop made a triumphal entry into 
the Capital, where he was received with 
great rejoicing by the populace. 

Mendoza y Luna (mdn-do'thd e loo' no), 
Juan de, Marquis de Montes Claros, loth 
viceroy of New Spain (1603-160 7). He 
built some excellent roads throughout the 
Valley of Mexico which exist to the present 
day, paid much attention to the health of 
the City of Mexico, and began the construc- 
tion of an aqueduct to bring drinking water 
into the Capital of the republic. On leav- 
ing Mexico he was sent to Peru as viceroy. 

Mendoza {mdn-do'thd), Lorenzo Juarez 
de, Count of Coruna, 5th viceroy of New 
Spain (15S0-1582). He at once petitioned 
the king of Spain to investigate the abuses 
of the oidores and other officials of the 
royal power in New Spain, and encouraged 
commerce, appointing what were known as^ 
commercial consuls. He died in Mexico. 

Mercado (mdr-kd'thd), Cerro de, an 
immense mountain of iron in the state of 
Durango, Mexico. It is 1,900 yards long, 
900 yards wide and 235 yards ligh and is 
estimated to contain 460,000,000 tons of 
iron ore, assaying from 70 to 75 per cent 
iron. On account of the refractory nature 
of the ore it has been very little worked 
up to the present. 

Merida (md're-thd), the capital of the 
state of Yucatan, is connected with Pro- 
greso, its port, by rail. It is by far the 
most important city in southeastern Mexico, 
being the center of the henequen trade for 
which the state of Yucatan is noted. It 



MEXICO 



2271 



MINING IN MEXICO 



is rich, well paved and contains many 
handsome buildings. Being on the low- 
lands and within the tropics, it is exces- 
sively warm during the summer months. 
It has a beautiful cathedral and rnany fine 
churches. Merida was founded in 1542, 
shortly after the conquest of that terri- 
tory. Population 45,000. 

Mexico, one of the central states of the 
republic of Mexico, bordering on Hidalgo, 
Tlaxcala, Puebla, Morelos, Guerrero, Micho- 
acan and Queretaro, has an area of 9,200 
square miles. Surrounding as it does the 
Federal District, containing Mexico City 
and various important towns, which are 
connected with interurban railways, the 
state of Mexico carries on an extensive 
trade in agricultural products, which are its 
principal assets. It is somewhat moun- 
tainous, and contains one of the most im- 
Eortant lake regions of the republic (See 
■AKEs OF Mexico). Its climate varies from 
cold, in the upper mountain regions, to 
warm in the lower lands in the south. On 
account of the natural richness of the state 
its chief occupation is agriculture and min- 
ing, the output of the latter being over 
$7,000,000 yearly. Chief cities: Toluca, 
the capital, Texcoco, Chalco, Tenancingo, 
Sultepec and El Oro, the latter two being 
noted mining centers. The state contains 
two noted valleys of considerable extent, 
Mexico and Toluca, which are agriculturally 
very rich and contain some of the most 
valuable land in the republic. Population 
1,100,000. 

Mexican Flag, whose colors are white, 
green and red, representing religious purity, 
unity and independence, had its origin in 
what are styled "the three guarantees." 
See The Three Guarantees. 

Michoacan {me-cho' d-kdn') , an important 
state of southwestern Mexico, surrounded 
by Jalisco, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Mexico, 
Colima and Guerrero and touching on the 
Pacific Ocean, has an area of 22,700 square 
miles of territory, in general raountainous, 
interspersed with exceedingly rich valleys, 
in which cattle raising, agriculture and 
manufacturing are carried on extensively. 
The climate is temperate and the agri- 
cultural lands are well watered by rivers 
and streams which are to be found in all 
parts of the state. In addition, the northern 
part contains the most important lake 
region of Mexico (See Lakes of Mexico). 
The principal products are: Sugar, rice, 
cotton, molasses, wheat, coffee, frijoles 
barley, tobacco, fruits, brandy, chili (native 
red pepper), woods and minerals, the out- 
put of the latter being over $4,000,000 
yearly. Population 950,000. 

Military Academy, National. See 
Academy, National Military. 

Mineri'a (men-d-re' a) , La (School of 
Mines), is one of the largest and most im- 
portant buildings in Mexico. As far back 



as 1777 this school existed, and had for its 
object the encouragement of mining in New. 
Spain; but it was not until 18 13 that the 
present huge building was completed at a 
cost of over one and one-half million 
dollars. The architect, Manuel Tolsa, was 
one of the greatest civil engineers that 
Mexico has produced. The building has 
magnificent patios and stairways, and raany 
rooms of liberal dimensions. In the great 
central court many gorgeous functions of 
a public nature have been held. The build- 
ing is at present devoted to the teaching 
of engineering, with special attention to all 
that relates to mining. The course for 
graduation covers seven years. 

Mining in Mexico began years before 
the conquest of the Aztec empire by the 
Spaniards in 1521; and the amount of gold 
displayed in temples and as personal orna- 
ments excited the wonder of Cortes and his 
followers when they entered the Aztec cap- 
ital for the first time. It is probable that 
most of the metal so employed was obtained 
by placer mining. But immediately after 
the conquest in 182 1 the Spaniards began 
developing the mining resources of the 
country and soon a number of the mining 
districts of Mexico became famous. Fab- 
ulous sums were produced from some of 
those old mines; and yet the mining wealth 
of Mexico today, as then, consists more in 
the vast deposits of ores throughout the 
length and breadth of the country than in 
their high grade. Of this vast wealth of 
low grade ore but a very small percentage 
has as yet been touched. Modern methods 
have, however, begun to change the condi- 
tion of mining in the country and the invest- 
ment of large amounts of foreign capital 
has begun the development of many large 
mines on a broad scale. Abandoned mines 
have been reopened and scientific methods 
applied to their development, which have 
made of them rich properties in a short 
time; but there are hundreds of these still 
untouched, most of them flooded with 
water. 

The great present commercial mineral 
wealth of Mexico consists in its silver and 
copper mines; but iron ore of high grade 
is plentiful. However it has been but 
little developed, owing to want of cheap 
fuel and distance from transportation. 
Gold, lead and quicksilver are also plentiful 
in Mexico; coal has been discovered in 
large quantities in Coahuila and petroleum 
in Veracruz, Tamaulipas and the southern 
states of the republic and both of these 
natural resources are being rapidly devel- 
oped by foreign capital, principally Amer- 
ican, French and English. Among other 
metals to be found extensively throughout 
Mexico are zinc, salt, antimony, sulphur 
and bismuth, onyx, marble, opals, emeralds, 
garnets, sapphires, topazes, jaspers, rubies 
and agates. Obsidian of an excellent qnal- 



MI XT 



2272 



MOCTEZUMA 



ity exists in vast deposits in many parts of 
the republic, especially in the volcanic dis- 
tricts, and fine pearls and pearl shells are 
to be found in large quantities in the Gulf 
of Lower California. Many rare minerals 
have been discovered in various of the 
mineral zones of Mexico, but practically no 
attempt has been made at exploiting them. 
Vast deposits of excellent salt exist in 
numerous parts of Mexico, generally close 
to the sea coast, in exposed stretches called 
" Salinas." Of these one of the most exten- 
sive is close to the city of Salina Cruz in 
the state of Oaxaca, which derives its name 
from these same deposits. A strong com- 
pany has been at work for several years, 
exnloiting these latter salinas, and salt from 
this region is to be found on sale in most 
of the cities and towns of Mexico. Twu- 
thirds of ]\Iexico is one vast mineralized 
field awaiting the advent of modern min- 
ing methods and unlimited capital for its 
de\'elopment, the construction of good 
wagon roads and railways and cheaper fuel. 
The opening up of new coal fields and the 
exploiting of broad petroleum areas of 
territory promise to soon supply this latter 
factor. (See p. 1214.) 

.iWint, The, of Mexico, has a history 
reaching back to within a few years of the 
conquest of the country by the Spaniards. 
In 1535 small pieces of silver with the 
government mark stamped upon them, 
were introduced into the currency of the 
country, which was insufficient to meet the 
demands of greatly increased trade. These 
coins were issued from the newly estab- 
lished mint, which was permitted to coin 
onlv silver. In 1675 a royal decree of the 
court of Spain perniitted the Mexican mint 
to coin pieces of money similar to the 
Spanish gold doubloon. 

The mint was first established on Mon- 
terilla street, next to the city hall; but in 
1569 it was removed to the building now 
known as the National Palace, facing the 
Zocalo, in Mexico City. In 1731 it was 
removed to the building which it now 
occvipies, which had been constructed for 
it. During the colonial period (1521- 
1821) the mint coined $68,874,958 in gold 
pieces, $542 ,893 in copper pieces and $2 ,08 1 ,- 
217,985 in silver. In the year 1805 over 
$25,000,000 in silver were coined at the 
mint. 

From iSioto 1821 mints were established 
in Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Som- 
brerete, Guadalajara and Durango, all then 
as now great mining centers. Later on 
additional mints were established at San 
Luis Potosi, Culiacan, Tlalpam, Oaxaca, 
Guadalupe y Calvo, Alamos, Catorce and 
Hermosillo. But in 1893 the Mexican gov- 
ernment closed all the mints throughout 
the republic except that in the Capital, 
which now has facilities for coining $250,- 
000 a dav. 




S.\LVADOR DI.^Z 
MIRON 



To the present there have been coined 
in the various mints of Mexico §131,573,- 
256 in gold; $3,563,178,979 in silver and 
$47,488,674 in bronze and copper, to which 
must be added a small percentage for coin- 
age in the past couple of years for which 
statistics are not at present available. The 
total coinage of Mexico, including nickel 
coins during the period since the Spanish 
conquest to the present day, is over $4,- 
000,000.000. 

Miramon, Gen. Miguel. See p. 1239. 
Aliron {mc-roii'), Salvador Diaz (1853- 
) , orator and poet of forcible style 
and strong imagina- 
tion which is oriental 
in its richness. He 
is a true Latin in his 
love of beauty and 
niceness of expres- 
sion, yet he has that 
force which ever com- 
pels attention. He is 
the poet of the upper 
classes, the learned 
and the thoughtful, 
for his poetry is clas- 
sical in its exactness 
and its adherence to 
chastity of form and 
expression. He has 
been called the Mex- 
ican poet for the poets. 

Moctezuma and Tula, Count of. See 

V.\LL,\D.'>iRES, JoSE SaRMIENTO. 

Moctezuma I (mdk'id-sdd'md) , known as 
Ilhuicamina (Strongbow), fifth king of the 
Aztecs (1436-1464), was son of Huitzili- 
huitl, second king of Mexico and nephew of 
the famous Itzcoatl, during whose reign he 
had been commander of the Mexican army, 
which he led with great bravery, skill and 
wisdom. To him is due much of the suc- 
cess which followed the armies of Itzcoatl. 
During the reign of Moctezuma I the allies 
greatly extended the boundaries of the 
Aztec confederacy, carrying their victorious 
arms to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico; 
much attention was given to the beautify- 
ing of Tenochtitlan (Mexico) , which was 
greatly enriched with the spoils of the con- 
quered cities and peoples and the tribute 
collected from them and the power of the 
king, the nobles and the priests was greatly 
extended, for Moctezuma I, like his famous 
namesake of later date, was very much of 
an aristocrat, and assumed an attitude 
never before taken by Aztecs, hedging him- 
self about with elaborate ceremonies which 
he introduced into the court. He was 
proud in bearing, severe in punishment of 
crime, but just in all his dealings; so he 
was' respected and feared by his subjects. 
Though a great warrior, he was also very 
religious and he did much to increase the 
power of the priests and to extend the 
sphere of the church. Among other places 



MOCTEZUMA 



2273 



MORELIA 



of worship he built a great teocalli or ternple 
to the war god, and he introduced into 
the church service, as he had into the court, 
a much more elaborate ceremony. In 1446 
the city of Tenochtitlan (Mexico) was visited 
by a flood which destroyed many buildings 
and this was followed in 145 1 by a famine, 
which was pretty general throughout the 
Aztec empire, and which caused the death 
of thousands of people. To prevent future 
floods II miles of dykes were thrown up 
to keep back the waters of Lake Texcoco. 
But though of great general use, these 
dykes did not insure the safety of the 
city. 

Moctezuma {mok'td-soo'md) II, known as 
Moctezuma Zocoyotzin, or the younger, the 
eighth emperor of the Aztecs, and the 
third last ruler of the Aztec confederacy. 
He had been a brilliant warrior, and as 
high priest of the nation he had increased 
the power of the church. While a priest, 
he showed himself humble and frugal in 
his way of living; but as soon as he cairie 
to the throne of the Aztecs, he changed his 
conduct and became as proud and haughty 
as he had previously been humble. He had 
a thousand servants in his famous New 
Palace, all to wait on him personally, and 
every one was 9f noble birth. He extended 
the sphere of the arms of the Nahuatl con- 
federac}^ and m.ade the name of the Mocta- 
zumas feared from one end of Mexico to 
the other. The extravagance of the royal 
court, the vast sums required for the main- 
tenance of the ceremonies of church and 
state and for the beautifying and extend- 
ing of the city of Tenochtitlan (Mexico) 
which Moctezuma undertook, necessitated 
a very heavy taxation, which brought with 
it its accompanying discontent, all tended 
to weaken the Aztec dominion, especially 
over the recently conquered peoples, who 
had been added to the acquisitions of the 
confederacy by Moctezuma himself and b/ 
the two previous rulers. Moctezuma II 
was very superstitious, and, when the Span- 
iards appeared off the coast of Yucatan 
and later Mexico, he believed they were 
gods, or at least the followers of the fabled 
Quetzalcoatl, who had promised to return 
some day and rule over the people .of Mex- 
ico. For this reason he feared to attack 
them as they made their way to the Cap- 
ital of the Aztec empire, despite his ex- 
pressed wishes to the contrary and his 
commands to advance no further. This 
vacillating conduct was the direct cause of 
the downfall of the greatest native entity 
among the governments upon the American 
continents in the pre-conquest period. See 
p. 1257, and also Quetzalcoatl. 

Molino del Rey {mo-le'no del rd') , as 
its name indicates, is a large mill, which 
is now painted a dull red color. It is sit- 
uated on the heights behind Chapul1ep~'c 
Castle, and is reached bv the Dolores line 



of the street railway of Mexico City. On 
Sept. 8, 1847, the Casa Mata, a point 
further up the heights, and the Molino del 
Rey (The King's Mill) were both taken by 
General Worth, after a desperate battle. 
General Grant, then lieutenant, was among 
the attacking party. These two points 
defended Chapultepec Castle, which was 
taken by storm five days later. See 
Chapultepec. 

Monclova, Count of. See Laso de la 
Vega. 

Monserrat {mdn-sdr-rdf) , Joaquin de, 
Marquis de Cruillas, 43rd viceroy of New 
Spain ( 1 760-1 766), gave much attention to 
fortifying Veracruz, Jalapa and Perote, 
three strong forts in the state of Veracruz, 
and along the old stage road which con- 
nected the port with the Capital, and by 
his orders trained military officers were 
brought from Spain to the province to train 
the native militia. Smallpox carried off 
many children and the plague thousands of 
Indians of all ages. During this adminis- 
tration the Jesuits relinquished the admin- 
istration of the missions in various parts of 
New Spain, into the hands of the Spanish 
court. 

Montanes, Juan de Ortega. See Or- 
tega MONTANES. 

Monies de Oca, Ignacio. See Oca, 
Ignacio Montes de. 

Morales (md-rd'lds), La Laguna de, an 

important inlet of the Gulf of Mexico on 
the eastern coast of the state of Tamaulipas, 
Mexico. It is picturesque and surrounded 
by excellent lands, which stretch inward 
toward the west. 

Morales (md-rd'lds), Meliseo (1853- 
), one of the greatest writers of lyrical 
dramas that Mexico has produced. His 
success has been even greater in_ Europe 
than at home. Especially is this so in 
Italy where his operas have been printed 
and repeatedly produced. Owing to his 
popularity numerous musical societies have 
been named after him both in M'exicoand 
in Italy. He has done much for music in 
Mexico, and to his efforts his country to- 
day has the National Conservatory _ of 
Music, one of the finest schools of its kind 
on the American Continent. His best 
known operas are: Ildegonda and Romeo 
and Juliet. 

Morelia (mo-rd'le-d), the capital of the 
state of Michoacan, is situated at an eleva- 
tion of 6,200 feet above sea level, on a 
branch of the National Lines of Mexico. 
It stands upon a hill in the midst of a beau- 
tiful valley, which gives it a commanding 
appearance. The climate is one of the best 
in Mexico. The city, which was founded 
in 1 54 1, was known for many years as 
Valladolid; but after the overthrow of 
Spanish power in New Spain, it was called 
Morelia after the patriot leader Morelos. It 
contains many handsome buildings, includ- 



MORELOS 



2274 



MOUNT MALIXCHE 



ing the cathedral, churches, schools, parks, 
plazas and state and public edifices. It 
has always been noted as a very religious 
city and the people still pride themselves 
on being very catholic. Morelia was the 
storm center of the revolutionary period 
and it is said to have lost four-fifths of its 
inhabitants. Population 40,000. 

Morelos (mo-rd'lds), one of the smallest 
states in Mexico, which touches on the 
Federal District, Puebla, Mexico and Guer- 
rero, has an area of 2,750 square miles. 
Principal products: Brandy, rice, sugar, 
yucca, corn, woods and fruit. Chief cities 
Cuernavaca, the. capital, and Cuautla, both 
farnous health resorts, and Jojutla, Popu- 
lation 210,000. 

Morelos (mo-rd'lds). Gen. Jose Maria, 
is considered by Mexican historians as, 
next to Hidalgo, the greatest hero of the 
war of independence. As a soldier and 
general he was much Hidalgo's superior. 
He was born in Valladolid (now called 
Moreha in his honor) in 1765, and he was 
30 years of age before he began to study 
for the priesthood, in the college of San 
Nicholas, of which Hidalgo, the future hero 
of Mexican independence, was then rector. 
There he imbibed the teachings of Hidalgo, 
and consequently he was one of the first 
to follow his banner. He soon took the 
lead of the revolutionary party in the 
south, with great success. In December, 
181 1, he entered Izucar; on the 17th he 
repelled General Soto's forces, who made 
a strong attack upon Izucar; and on the 
2 2nd_those of General Porher. He followed 
up his advantage over the latter, captured 
much munitions of war, and swept the 
royalist from the surrounding country from 
Cuautla to Acapulco. Then Morelos took 
possession of Cuautla, wiiere he sustained a 
siege of two months, being besieged by a 
force more than twice his own. He was 
at last forced to evacuate the town, and 
retreat to Tehuacan. From here, while 
the enemy was following him, he besieged 
and took Orizaba in October, 181 2, where 
several millions of dollars' M^orth of spoils 
fell into his hands. On Nov. 25 he took 
Oaxaca by storm. Then he carried on his 
operations in the south country again, laid 
siege to the strong fortress of Acapulco, 
which he captured after a protracted siege 
^Aug. 25, 1 813); and the following month 



he called a congress at Chilpancingo to 
organize an independent Mexican govern- 
ment. This congress issued a formal decla- 
ration of Mexican independence, and gave 
the new republic the name of "Anahuac." 
Morelos then attempted to capture Valla- 
dolid, but was forced to retire before a 
superior force, and he retreated to Acapulco, 
where he convened congress. On Oct. 22 
the first Mexican constitution was adopted. 
But the royalists followed Morelos into the 
state of Guerrero and the latter retreated 
again before superior numbers. On the 
eve of a great battle, Xov. 5, 1815, Morelos 
was betrayed by one of his own men into 
the hands of the royalists at Texmalaca. 
He was brought to Mexico City, tried by 
the inquisition and the militarv courts, 
condemned to death and shot' at San 
Cristobal Ecatepec, Dec. 22, 181 5. 

Moreno (md-rd'nd), Jose Rosas (1838- 
1883), historian, dramatist, poet and the 
best writer of metrical fables that Mexico 
has produced. His style is correct, har- 
monious and sweet. Juan de Dios Peza 
(which see) says of him: "Rosas Moreno, 
as a poet, is of wonderful sweetness, and 
so correct is his style, that, without any 
fear of making a mistake, we may assert 
that, if we have classical writers in "Mexico, 
he is one of them." The following of his 
numerous dramas are worthy of mention: 
Flowers and Thorns; An Innocent Lie; No 
One Dies of Love; A Plan for Divorce; Rela- 
tives; Our Daily Bread; for Juana Inez de 
la Cruz; The Wife of Caesar; Around the 
Cradle and The Bard of Acolhuacan. He 
was a writer of excellent school books, 
but of all his works his Fables are his most 
popular productions. 

Mount Malinche. See Malinche, La. 
Moya de Contreras {mo-yd dd kdn- 
trdr'ds), Pedro, viceroy of New Spain 
( 1 584-1 585), was archbishop and visitador 
to Mexico from the court of Spain, and he 
was appointed to assume the duties of 
viceroy by Philip II. At once he deprived 
of office several oidores, hanged a number 
of officials and made a clean sweep of 
malefactors in office, so that administration 
of justice was, for the time being, honest. 
Under his direction a council of the church 
was held wherein the ecclesiastical author- 
ities put themselves on record as in favor 
of the liberty of the Indians, 



NATERA 



2275 



NORONA Y SILVA 



N 



Najera (nd'hd-ra), Manuel Gutierrez 

(1859-1895), who achieved fame under the 
nom de plume of the "Duque Job," was 
painter, sculptor, poet, critic and prose 
writer of note. Few Mexican writers have 
had success in so many fields of literature 
as he. Humor, wit, pathos, political and 
literary criticism, short stories, descriptive 
articles of wonderful vividness, all flowed 
from his pen from week to week as the 
calls of journalism produced them, all true 
to na.ture and good taste and filled with 
the vivid imagination of the man, and all 
showing his powers of observation and 
striking ability to portray what he saw. 
As a poet he is as much a painter as when 
he was conveying some actual scene to 
real canvas; and every picture is as vivid 
as though the actual scene that inspired 
it were there before our eyes. So true are 
his descriptions of national customs and so 
striking his local color sketches that the 
newspapers of the capital find nothing 
better, now, more than a decade since his 
death, than to illustrate and reprint them 
as leading articles on the occurrence of 
some yearly festival, some characteristic or 
curious church holiday, some historic event 
or some celebration which has clustered 
around it the curious local spirit emanating 
from the obscure past of the Indian. At 
all he is at home, vivid, striking, convinc- 
ing, pleasing, unconventional and strangely 
original in his pictures, his perspective and 
even his language, which is ever made to 
fit the occasion and the subject. 

National Military Academy. See Acad- 
emy, National Military. 

National Museum, Mexico, occupies a 
large part of the National Palace building 
fronting on Moneda street, and east of the 
old postoffice, the former quarters of the 
National Mint. The Museum is rich in 
archaeological remains of great interest, 
some of which were inherited from the 
University of Mexico which was closed in 
1865; but the greater part of what is a very 
large and varied collection has been made 
within the past thirty years, the govern- 
ment having shown especial activity in the 
collection of antiquities of all kinds relating 
to Mexico within the past decade. Although 
considerable attention has been paid to the 
Natural History Department of the Museum, 
it is naturally much infericw to that of 
archaeology proper. This is due to the fact 
that Mexico is, archaeologically, one of the 
richest' countries in the world, and the 
interest awakened in the study of the 
ancient remains of Mexico has benefited 
greatly this department of the Museum. 



As there are in the Museum literally thou- 
sands of remains relating to the history of 
the pre-Columbian tribes, races and nations 
of Mexico, and as all are interesting, a 
description of even the most important 
would be impossible here. Suffice it to say, 
however, that the Museum is, for the student, 
the most interesting institution in Mexico, 
showing, as it does, in a concrete manner, 
the civilization of the ancient races of 
Mexico; for there are to be met with objects 
in abundance which show the advancement 
made by the Aztecs, Colhouas, Toltecs, 
Zapotecas, Mayas, and other more or less 
known nations of ancient Mexico, in arts, 
sciences, social and political organization, 
tools, dress, warfare, customs, superstitions, 
traditions , history, etc. ; for there , in fact , may 
be met with the greatest collection of 
remains of the primitive races and peoples 
of the American continent. The Museum 
is especially rich in pottery, sculptured 
objects, some of them of immense dimen- 
sions, picture writing and copper articles 
belonging to the preconquest period in 
Mexican history. 

National Palace, The. See Palacio 
Nacional. 

National School of Fine Arts of Mexico, 
The. See Academy, San Carlos. 

Navarrete {nd'vd-rd'ta), Fray Manuel 
(1768— 1809), a Franciscan monk who was 
guardian of the famous convent of Tlalpu- 
jahua, Mexico. So sweet run the lines of 
his muse that he has been called the angel 
poet of Mexico. His style is natural, with- 
out the slightest appearance of affectation 
and there is a depth of feeling in his poetry 
and a cleanness which other writers of the 
period in which he lived would have done 
well to imitate. He had a considerable in- 
fluence upon the poets who succeeded him 
and to this influence, no doubt, is due the 
fact that the better poetry of Mexico is 
more simple and less filled with involved 
phraseology than that of the mother country, 
Spain. _^ 

Norona y Silva {no-r5n'yd e sel'vd), 
Fernando Alencastre, Duke of Linares 
(1711-1716), 34th viceroy of New Spain, 
was very popular on account of his sym- 
pathetic and charitable tendencies. Out of 
his own means he gave extensive aid to 
the populace, hundreds of whom suft'ered 
severely in an earthquake of half an hour's 
duration, which took place in the first year 
of his administration. In this same year 
the first snowstorm mentioned in history 
visited the Capital of New Spain, causing 
the death of many of the half-clad Indians. 
Three years later plague and famine fell 



NOVELLA 



2276 



O'DOXOJU 



upon the land, causing great suffering and 
loss of life. Again the viceroy used to the 
limit his private purse to relieve the suffer- 
ing and hunger of the stricken people. The 
English government was granted, during 
this administration, a monopoly of the 
negro slave trade at Veracruz, the port of 
entry on the Gulf of Mexico, and San 
Felipe de Linares, in the state of Nuevo 
Leon, was founded (17 15). 

Novella Oio-vdl'yd), Francisco, 61st 
viceroy of New Spain, who came into power 
by the deposition of Apodaca (see Apodaca) 
in 1 82 1. He had been chief of artillery to 
the latter. Although he was a capable man, 
he was_ handicapped by the fact that the 
revolutionary party had become very 
strong in Alexico, there was dissension 
among the royalists, and he was looked 
upon by it; any of them as a usurper. His 
administration lasted but one month. 

Nuevo Leon {nod-d'vd Id-on'), one of the 
northern states of Mexico, surrounded by 
Coahuila, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, 
Coahuila, Durango and bordering on the 



United States, has an area of 25,000 square 
miles. It presents two general slopes, one 
toward the Gulf of Mexico and the ' other 
stretching into the central tableland; there- 
fore, its climate varies from temperate to 
hot. The uplands are semi-arid, while the 
lowlands are rich in tropical vegetation and 
well watered, among the rivers traxersing 
this region being the Salado, San Juan, 
Sabinas, Hidalgo, Pilon, Linares and Potosi! 
The chief industries are manufacturing, 
agriculture and mining. The state has 
excellent railway facilities, being traversed 
by the National Railways of Mexico and 
the International. The principal cities are: 
Monterey, the capital and chief center of 
manufactures, commerce and agriculture, 
Montemorelos, Linares and Sabinas. Pop- 
ulation 350,000. 

Nunez de Haro y Peralta (nddn'ydsdd 
dr'o _ e par dl'td) , Alonso, archbishop of 
Mexico and 4gth viceroy of New Spain 
(1787- ), governed the province for 
three months. Nothing of note happened 
during his administration. 



o 



Oaxaca. See p. 1368. 

Obregon {ob'rd-gdn'), Luis Gonzalez 

(1865- ), the most careful and con- 
scientious of the younger historians of 
Mexico. But he is more than a historian, 
and his methods are distinctly different 
from those of his predecessors. He takes 
up characters, periods, incidents and gives 
us elaborate pen pictures of each. He is 
a deep student and has a very retentive 
memory, a picturesque style and power of 
portrayal which make his work extremely 
interesting. He has been styled the topical 
historian of Mexico. His best known book, 
and undoubtedly his most interesting work, 
is Old Mexico. He has also written two 
intensely interesting biographies: Bernal 
Diaz and Jose Joaqinn Fernandez de 
Lizar di. 

Oca {dk'a), Ignacio Monies de (1840- 
), bishop of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, 
is one_ of the most learned men in the 
Catholic church. He is a poet of note, a 
delightful prose writer and a linguist of 
more than ordinary ability. He was edu- 
cated in England and Italy and so speaks 
the languages of both these countries like 
a native. In fact he was curate of Ipswich, 
Enrland, and afterwards secret chancellor 
to Pope Pius IX. During the French inter- 
vention he served as chaplain to the Em- 



peror Maximilian. Under the nom de plume 
of "Ipandro Acaico," he has published six 
large volumes of sermons, orations and 
descriptive articles, and also three volumes 
of poems, viz. : Pindar's Odes; Poetic Loiter- 
iitgs and Greek Bucolic Poets. 

Ocotlan {d-kdt-ldn'), The Shrine of, a 
famous sanctuary about a mile from the 
city of Tlaxcala, which is situated upon a 
hill to the southeast. There is worshiped 
the Virgin of Ocotlan, who is renowned 
throughout the state of Tlaxcala. The 
tradition of the founding of this shrine is 
almost identical with that of Our Lady 
of Guadalupe, the name of the Indian, 
Juan Diego, to whom the virgin appeared, 
being identical in both cases. See Our 
Lady of Guadalupe. 

O'Donoju (o'ddn-o-hdo'), Gen. Juan, the 
last viceroy of New Spain (Aug. 3 to Sept. 
27, 182 1), signed in behalf of Spain the 
treaty of Cordoba, which acknowledged the 
independence of Mexico. He died in "Mexico 
on the 8th of October, 1821. He was a 
mernber of the regency which go\'erned 
Mexico upon the acknowledgment of the 
independence of the country. To his tact 
and skilful management is due the success 
of the negotiations which brought about 
the independence of New Spain and the 
establishment of the provisional government. 



OFFICIAL RESIDENCE 



2277 



PACHECO Y OSORIO 



Official Residence of the President of 
Mexico. See Chapultepec Castle. 

Orizaba (o're sa'vd) , a mountain and city 
in the state of Veracruz. The mountain 
(18,100 feet) is said to be the highest eleva- 
tion in Mexico. As it is beautiful in form, 
snow-capped the year round, and stands 
out in bold relief from the valley in which 
it is situated, so that it can be seen for 
many miles, it is one of the sights of Mex- 
ico. The town of Orizaba lies in a pretty 
valley surrounded by bold and striking 
mountains, almost in the shadow of the 
great m.ountain of the same name. It is 
a manufacturing center of importance, 
though all the factories are situated with- 
out the city limits, with the exception of 
some small cigar and other industries. 
Orizaba, formerly known as Aulicava, is 
derived from the name of an ancient Chichi- 
meca village, Ahauializapan (Joy of Waters) , 
which existed there before the Spanish con- 
quest. Population 20,000. 

Ortega Montanes {or-ta'ga inon-tdn yds') , 
Juan de, Bishop of Michoacan, 30th vice- 
roy of New Spain (1696) and 32nd viceroy 
(i 701— 1702). During his first administra- 
tion he authorized the Jesuit fathers to 
"reduce to submission at their own ex- 
pense the distance province of California." 
Thus began that invasion of missionaries 
which lasted until the Jesuits were ex- 
pelled from New Spain in 1767. During 
his second administration the English laid 
siege to San Agustin, Florida, but were 
unable to take the place. 

Ortiz (or-tes') , Luis Q. (183 5-1 894), poet 
and novelist, who followed the Italian school 
of poetry. He was a great admirer of 



Petrarc, whose writings and manner of 
thought he reflects very often in his own. 
Yet for all this he shows a great deal of 
originality, though his point of view is 
often more Italian than Mexican. Through- 
out the two volumes of poems which he 
published during his lifetime the erotic pre- 
dominates. He is also the author of several 
novels which are more Mexican than his 
poems. 

Osorio Escobar y Llamas {o-sor'e-o 
ds-ko-bdr' e lyam'ds), Diego, bishop of ] 
Puebla, was viceroy of New Spain for four 
months in 1664. During this time the 
famous volcano, Popocatepetl (Mountain of 
Smoke), which overlooks the Valley of 
Mexico, was in eruption, causing great fear 
to all the surrounding villages and to the 
Capital of the republic. ' 

Osorio, Rodrigo Pacheco y. See 
Pacheco y Osorio. 

Othon (o-ton'), Manuel Jose (185S- 
1906), dramatist and lyrical and descriptive 
poet who may be classed as one of the 
best which Mexico , produced during the 
last quarter of the 19th century. Among 
his best known dramas, which have m.et 
with success upon the stage are : A 
Wounded Heart; The Shadow Upon the 
Hearthstone; A Chain of Flowers; What 
is There Behind Happiness?; Macbeth; 
After Death and Victory. He is to be 
classed with Mateos and Contreras as 
the greatest of the modern Mexican dra- 
matists, and like them, his dramas have 
plenty of action, good plots and sustained 
interest. 

Our Lady of the Ball. See Ball, Our 
Lady of the. 



Pacheco, Diego Lopez. See Cabrera y 

BOBADILLA. 

Pacheco y Osorio {pd-chd'ko e o-sd're-o) , 
Rodrigo, Marquis of Cerralvo, i6th vice- 
roy of New Spain (1624-1635), arrived in 
Mexico in company with Martin Carrillo, 
the inquisitor, with full power to investigate 
and punish the offenders of the previous 
administration (see Mendoza y Pimentel). 
The Prince of Nassau in 1624, with a Dutch 
squadron, took possession of Acapulco, but 
he soon retired before the threatening aspect 
of the people of the country; a few years 
later the Dutch succeeded in capturing a 
rich Spanish fleet of convoys in the Bahama 
straits, as it was going from Veracruz to 



Spain with much precious me'cal from the 
silver mines of Mexico. The Capital was 
again inundated, this time with more dam- 
age than on previous occasions, for the 
water rose to the second story of many of 
the buildings; and as the houses of the 
masses were built of adobe (sundried bricks) 
most of them were either completely de- 
stroyed or rendered so dangerous that they 
had to be pulled down and rebuilt. Three- 
fourths of the Spanish population of the 
City of Mexico perished, together with 30,- 
000 Indians, in this inundation; for the city 
was completely under water and the only 
means of communication was by canoe 
along the flooded streets. Divine service 



PACHUCA 



2278 



PALAFOX Y MEXDOZA 



was held upon the fla\ roofs of the houses 
and the law tribunals were closed. Those 
whose houses were of one-story only were 
forced to live upon the roof for many days. 
Tb.e heat of the tropical summer days, the 
cold and dampness of the nights in the 
flooded city and the diseases arising from 
this condition of things were the cause of 
so many deaths in the stricken city. So 
hopeless were the inhabitants of the cap- 
ital of being able to overcome the constant 
danger of inundation, that plans were 
seriously considered of removing the city 
to the higher ground of Tacubaya, some 
two miles distant. In the meantime the 
flood subsided, the Huehuetoca drainage 
canal was comj^leted, and the scheme to 
remove the Capital was laid aside. 

Pachuca (pd-chod'kd), the capital of the 
state of Hidalgo, -and one of the most im- 
portant mining centers in Mexico, lies in 
a small valley surrounded by mountains at 
an elevation of 8,100 feet above sea level. 
It is only 85 miles from Mexico City. The 
town was founded shortly after the Spanish 
conquest (1534), and owed its origin to the 
discovery of rich silver mines in the vallej^ 
There are close to three hundred mines in 
the Pachuca district, nearly half of which 
are in the immediate vicinity of the city. 
Of the famous names of Pachuca mines are 
Santa Gertrudis, Blanca, Xacal, Rosario, 
Candado and Real del Monte. From the 
Trinidad mine $40,000,000 were extracted 
in ten years. Population 20,000. 

Palacio (pd-ld' se-o) ,Qen. Vicente Riva 
(1832-1896), son of Mariano Riva Palacio, 
the great liberal leader, and Dolores Guer- 
rero, daughter of one of the most famous 
heroes of Mexican independence. He had 
all the fire, impetuosity and intelligence of 
his father and his more famous grandfather. 
He was statesman, diplomat, warrior, poet, 
dramatist and prose writer of superior ex- 
cellence. In fact no name stands higher in 
Mexican literature than his. As a literary 
and political critic he was a power in his 
day, and in this field he stands alone Avith 
Manuel Gutierrez Najera. His works have 
been _ published _ in part in all Spanish- 
speaking countries. He was a member of 
over thirty literary and scientific societies 
in all parts of the world. His style is 
brilliant, his insight keen, his criticism 
logical and convincing and his familiarity 
with his subject is ever evident. Among 
his most popular novels are Calvario y 
Tabor; Ntm and Married; Martin Garatuza; 
The Pirates of the Gulf; The Two Immured 
Women; Doctor Guillen de Lampart; the 
Memoirs of an Imposter and The Zeros. 
The latter is a series of humorous yet 
delightfully interesting and kindly sketches 
of his contemporary literary men, He also 
wrote in conjunction with Peza, Payno and 
Mateos and he furnished one of the volumes 
of the monumental work, Mexico Throtigh- 



otit the Centimes. His best known volume 
of poems bears the title Pages in Verse. 

Palacio was governor of the states of 
Mexico and Michoacan, magistrate of the 
supreme court of justice of Mexico, minister 
of the department of Fomento (Encourage- 
ment), and Mexican minister to Spain, 
which latter post he held at the time of 
his death, which took place in Madrid. 

Palacio Nacional (pa-la' se-d nd'se-o-ndl') 
(The National Palace), occupies the entire 
eastern side of the Zocalo (Plaza Mayor) of 
the City of Mexico, and is, therefore, one 
of the largest buildings in the Capital. 
Little by little the government has out- 
grown this building, large though it is; but 
it is still the headquarters for the army, 
and there the president of the republic 
has his offices and his reception rooms; but 
the greater part of the departments of the 
administration, which were housed there 
some years ago, have been moved to other 
government buildings throughout the city. 
At one time there were housed in this 
huge building nearly all the departments of 
the federal government, including the cen- 
tral postoffice and the Astronomical and 
Meteorological bureaus. The building has 
a frontage of 675 feet upon the Zocalo, 
and a corresponding depth. 

Historically the ground upon which the 
Palacio Nacional stands is one of the most 
interesting spots in Mexico; for upon it 
there stood, at the time of the Spanish 
conquest, one of the most famous palaces 
of Moctezuma, the proud emperor of the 
Aztecs, which was totally destroyed during 
the protracted and bloody siege of the 
City of Mexico in 1521. To Cortes, the 
conqueror, fell this piece of ground, then 
one of the most valuable in the conquered 
city. He erected upon it a new palace, 
which was destroyed in the riots of 1692. 
In that same year the present palace was 
begun; but its growth has been the history 
of successive additions, more or less in the 
same plain style, which have made of it 
one of the architecturally most unattractive 
buildings in the Capital. 

In this building is the Hall of the Am- 
bassadors, on the walls of which are some 
excellent paintings, which include por- 
traits of many of the noted leaders in the 
revolutionary'- war against Spain. Among 
these are portraits of Hidalgo, Juarez, 
Iturbide, AUende, Matamoros, Guerrero, 
Morelos and Arista. Above the facade of 
this building facing on the Zocalo is the 
famous bell, which Hidalgo, the father of 
Mexican independence, rang on the night 
of Sept. 15, 18 10, to call together the con- 
spirators who had been working to over- 
throw the power of Spain in Mexico. It 
is known as the Liberty Bell of Mexico. 

Palafox y Mendoza (pd'ld-fos' e mdn- 
do'thd), Juan de, bishop of Puebla, who 
had great political power in New Spain. 



PAREDES 



2279 



PERALTA 



He was the founder of the famous Palafox 
Library in Puebla and for five months in 
1642 he held the office of i8th viceroy. 
He had a bitter quarrel with the Jesuits 
on account of which there was a none too 
friendly feeling between the latter body 
and the rest of the Catholic Church in New 
Spain for years afterwards. 

Paredes, Count of. See Cerda, Tomas 
Antonio Manrique de. 

Parish Church of Mexico. See Sag- 

RARIO MeTROPOLITANO. 

Patio Process. See Medina, Bar- 

TOLOME DE. 

Patzcuaro (pats' kwd-ro) (Place of De- 
lights), a city of about 12,000 inhabitants, 
in the state of Michoacan, Mexico, is con- 
nected with the Capital of the republic, 
275 miles distant, by the National Rail- 
ways of Mexico. It is an important trad- 
ing point between the hotlands of the 
coast and temperate tableland. But it is 
more noted as a wintering place for tour- 
ists. The local market, which is very 
Indian in character, is interesting, on 
account of the variety of curious native 
products there offered for sale. In the 
valleys around Patzcuaro are some fifty 
towns and villages, which trade with the 
place. The principal building in Patzcuaro 
is the parish church, which was originally 
built as the state cathedral, when Patzcuaro 
was the residence of the state bishops in 
the 1 6th century. The place will hold 
3,000 people. Patzcuaro is situated near 
the shores of a very picturesque lake of 
the same name, of clear fresh water, which 
is about 25 miles long and 10 miles wide. An 
extensive fishing business is carried on on 
this lake, which is a favorite lounging ground 
of pleasure-seekers and tourists from the Cap- 
ital of the republic and from Guadalajara. 

Payno {pt'no), Manuel (1822-1891), 
statesman, diplomat, essayist and novelist, 
held many important positions under the 
Mexican government. He was secretary of 
the treasury (finance minister) and while 
in this office he reduced the national debt 
to $20,000,000. Afterwards he became 
Mexican consul-general to Spain. He was 
a strong republican, and several times he 
suffered imprisonment for his political 
opinions. But it is as a novelist and essayist 
that he will be longest remembered, although 
he has written an excellent short history of 
Mexico, many historical articles, biography 
and political treatises. His style is clear, 
his perspective good and his power of 
description and characterization excellent. 
Of his historical works, one of the most 
interesting is The War Between Mexico and 
the United States. His best novel is the 
Devil's Scarf Pin. His imagination is vivid, 
his descriptions accurate and his choice of 
subjects generally happy. Considering the 
active political life he led, he has left a 
great amount of really excellent work. 



Paz {pas'), Col. Ireneo (1836- ), 
soldier, statesman, journalist, novelist, poet, 
dramatist and publisher, in all of which 
walks of life he has made his influence and 
personality felt. For years he fought in 
behalf of the independence of Mexico and 
of liberal principles, and he even opposed 
the great Juares because he thought that 
statesman had not kept faith with the con- 
stitution of Mexico. As a dramatist Paz is 
one of the most successful writers of Mexico, 
especially in the field of comedy. He was 
several times imprisoned for his political 
opinions, and twice his life was in danger. 
He has been President of the Associated 
Press of Mexico, senator, congressman and 
director of public roads and parks for the 
federal district. His published works would 
form a small library in themselves; the 
following are the most important: Some 
Campaigns; Father Cohos; An Old Man's 
Love; Love and Sacrifice; The Two Antonios; 
Thistles and Violets (Poems and Dramas in 
three large volumes) ; Dona Marina; Guad- 
alupe; Prominent Men of Mexico; Historical 
Legends; The Sacrificial Stone and Festive 
Sonnets. His most successful dramas which 
are to be found in the second _ volume .of 
Thistles and Violets are: The Gift of Doing 
Things the Wrong Way; On the Edge of the 
Abyss; The Heroes of the Day After; The 
Apple of Discord; Ready for the Festivals; 
Your Money or Your Life and A Flood of 
Englishmen. Of these the most successful 
is The Apple of Discord. 

Pedregal {pad' rd- gal'), The (Place of 
Stones), a stretch of exceedingly rough, 
lava-covered country lying to the south of 
Coyoacan and San Angel in the Federal 
District of Mexico, was once famous as the 
home of robber bands who constantly, for 
more than three centuries, threatened the 
peace and commerce of the Capital. It was 
there that Netcahualcoyotl, the famous 
king of Texcoco (which see) found refuge 
from his enemies and there he made his 
famous wanderings that gave him his name 
which signifies "Hungry Wolf." Reference 
is found constantly in Mexican literature 
and history to the Pedregal. 

Peon y Contreras, Jose. See Con- 
treras. 

Peralta {pdr-dl'ta), Gaston de. Marquis 
de Falces, 3rd viceroy of New Spain 
(1566-1568). Before the arrival of Peralta 
in New Spain an insurrection against the 
government had broken out in the country, 
headed by Martin Cortes, son of the con- 
queror. Peralta found that the oidores, 
who represented the Spanish king, had 
acted with haste and passion in judging 
many of those who took part in the upris- 
ing, so he reversed many of their acts and 
sent the accused to Spain for trial. The 
viceroy was, in his turn, accused of par- 
tiality and finally ordered by the king to 
return to Spain, which he did. There he 



PESADO 



2280 



PRIETO DE LANDAZURI 




was able to clear himself of all the charges 
laid against him. 

Pesado {pd-sd'lhd), Jose Joaquin (1801- 
i86i), is looked upon as the best of the 
classical poets of Mexico. His power of 
imagery and his skill in accurate painting 
have raised him above the poets of his own 
time. His works have been reprinted 
numerous times in Spain, and the Spanish 

goets and critics have praised him highly, 
ut he is so thoroughly under the influence 
of the classical spirit that his poetry reflects 
little or nothing of his own country, so that 
his style, his choice of subjects and his 
manner of execution have nothing national 
about them. 

Peza ipd'sd), Juan de Dios (1852- ), 
medical man, statesman, journalist, poet, 
dramatist and prose 
writer, who is un- 
doubtedly the best of 
the living literary 
men of Mexico. Of 
all the American 
writers he resembles 
most Longfellow on 
account of his sim- 
plicity of style, his 
choice of common 
subjects, which he 
ennobles while he 
touches them with a 
loving hand. His 
dramas are : A Love 
Affair; The True 
Ho7ne and The Last 
Days of Christopher 
Columbus. The publication of the Songs 
of the Hearthstone in his 24th year at once 
made him one of the popular poets of 
Mexico. Other publications have added to 
his fame until now he is looked upon as 
the literary leader of the republic. His 
other works of note are : Home and Country; 
Memories and Hopes; The Arrow of Love; 
Mexican Traditions; Flowers of the Soul; 
Monologties of Songs and Heroes; Legends 
of the Streets of Mexico; The Mexican Lyre 
and The Harp of Our Native Land. In his 
patriotic and war poems Peza shows fire, 
enthusiasm and a mastery of expression 
and word painting that at once caught the 
attention of his countrymen as no other 
native writer, with the exception of Guil- 
lermo Prieto, has ever done. 

Pimentel, Mendoza y. See Mendoza 
y Pimentel. 

Place of Water. See Aztlan. 
Popocatepetl. See Ixtaccihuatl. 
Popotla ipd-poi'ld), a suburb of Mexico 
City, with which it is connected by tram- 
way. It was the capital of the ancient 
kingdom of the Chichimecas. Later on it 
was of iinportance as the end of the great 
causeway which connected Tenochtitlan 
(Mexico City) with the mainland to the 
west. It was at Popotla that Cortes halted. 



juan de dios 
peza 




GUILLERMO PRIETO 



on the "Dismal Xight" after his disastrous 
retreat fro.n Tenociititlan; and there tradi- 
tion says he sat down under a cypress tree, 
which is still pointed out to tourists, and 
wept. 

Portocarrero, Melchor. See Laso de 
la Vega. 

Prieto (pre-d'io), Guillermo (1818- 
1897), journalist, poet, orator, statesman, 
historian, essayist and 
noted writer on poli- 
tical economy and 
kindred subjects. He 
was a passionate re- 
publican and his 
political beliefs tinge 
all his writings and 
acts. He was min- 
ister of finance and 
he held other impor- 
tant government 
offices. But it is as 
a poet of the ro- 
mantic school that he 
will be longest 
remembered in Mex- 
ico. In all that he 

has written touching the life and events of 
his day his vision has ever been Mexico 
free, united, happy and great. For this he 
struggled all his lifetime; and this is why 
no other native poet has touched the hearts 
of the people of Mexico as Guillermo Prieto 
has done. His very attitude toward all 
things Mexican, his passion, his force, his 
mastery of word painting, his knowledge 
of the people made him, without his know- 
ing it or striving to become so, the real 
father of Mexican poetry, that is, poetry 
whose inspiration finds its origin in the 
national life, its customs, manners of 
thought, aspirations, greatnesses and little- 
nesses. To the Mexican writers who labored 
with him or have followed him he widened 
the field of vision a hundredfold. His 
National Romances is his most popular 
work. 

Prieto de Landazuri (pre-d'to da Idn- 
dd' sod-re'), Isabel (i 833-1 876), is, next to 
Sor Juana Inez de la Curz, the greatest 
woman poet of Mexico, and one of the 
greatest dramatists of the republic. As a 
lyrical poet she is simple, direct, yet strongly 
imaginative, with the power of depicting in 
short, terse sentences most vivid iinages and 
pictures. Her range of subjects and char- 
acters is very large both in her Ij^rical and 
descriptive poems and her dramas. As a 
dramatist she was prolific, and her produc- 
tions were received with great enthusiasni 
in her day, both in Spain and in Mexico. 
Hartsenbusch, the famous Spanish drama- 
tist and critic, praised her dramatic work 
highly. Among her long list of dramas the 
following are worthy of note: Both Are 
the Worst; Two Flowers; Tinsel aud Gold; 
The School of Two Sisters-in-law; Penitence 



PROGRESO 



2281 



QUINTANA ROO 



and Sin; Abnegation; A Lily Among Thorns; 
The Angel of the Hearth; Carnival Night; A 
Woman's Heart; Fairy and Seraphim; A 
Type of the Day and The Thorns of Sin. 
The best edition of her poetical works is 
that published by Ireneso Paz, Mexico, 
1883, and edited by Jose Maria Vigil, two 
noted Mexican authors. 

Prince of the Reeds. See Acam- 

APITZIN. 

Progreso (pro-grd' so) , the chief seaport 
town of the state of Yucatan, is the recipient 
of practically all the export trade of the 
state, which is extensive. The port may be 
said to have control of the henequen trade, 



so far as it relates to Mexico. It is but a 
short distance from Progreso to Merida, the 
capital of the state. On account of the 
extreme heat of the tropics, Progreso is 
unhealthful for Americans and Europeans. 

Puebla {pwd'vld), the third largest city 
in the republic of Mexico. It is noted for 
its many fine churches and the religious 
zeal of its inhabitants. It was founded 
shortly after the conquest, and was, for 
many years, the most important religious 
center in the republic. See p. 1559. 

Puerto Real. See Terminos and Car- 
men. 

Pulque. See p. 1560. 



Q 



Quauhnahuac (kwd'od-nd'-wdk) (The 
Valley of Flowers), the Indian name for 
the present city of Cuernavaca, the capital 
of the state of Morelos, Mexico. 

Queretaro. See p. 15 14. 

Queretaro. See p. 1574. 

Quetzalcoatl {kets' dl-kwdtl') (the Fair 
God), the Hiawatha of Mexico, figures 
extensively in the legends of the Toltecs 
and Aztecs. According to the stories told 
of him, he was a tall man with a long 
beard and fair complexion, who came from 
a far distant land to teach the Toltecs. 
Like Hiawatha, he taught them the arts 
of war and peace, but especially the latter; 
but he enjoined upon them that they should 
live in peace with one another. When he 
left them to return to the land from whence 
he came, he promised to come back to then 
some day and make them wiser and greater. 
It was this legend with its promise that 
made the valiant Moctezuma II a servile 
coward in the presence of the adventurous 
conqueror Cortes, whom he believed to be 
Quetzalcoatl returning to claim his own; 
and to this superstition may be accredited, 
in part at least, the successful conquest of 
Mexico by such a comparatively small band 
of Spanish adventurers. Quetzalcoatl ap- 
pears to have been a very successful leader 
and teacher of the Toltec people, whom 
time has raised into a demigod. In south- 



ern Mexico, especially in Yucatan and 
Campeche, the same legend is met with, 
in substantially the same form. See 
KuKULKAN, Cholula, Tegtihuacan, Hia- 

WATHA. 

Quiches (ke'chds) , one of the earlier races 
of people who inhabited Mexico. The 
greater part of their history is lost in the 
mist of the past. This much, however, is 
known. They were a civilized race, were 
excellent builders, cultivated the soil with 
success and understood the working of 
mictals. They apparently came from the 
north, and, after long wanderings, arrived 
in Yucatan, where they now form part of 
the great Maya-Quiche race. 

Quintana Roo (ken-tdn'd ro'd) , the latest 
formed district of Mexico, which was carved 
out of the troublesome Mkya country of 
Yucatan, lies between Yucatan, Campeche, 
Guatemala and Belice. The population con- 
sists chiefly of Indians, the greater part of 
whom do not speak Spanish. On account 
of the unexplored character of the country 
the population and area have not been 
recorded. The chief cities are Santa Cruz 
de Bravo (the old Maya capital) and 
Vigia Chico. The industries, such as they 
are, are altogether agricultural, with 
the exception of the native manufac- 
tures of the Indians, which are all done by 
hand. 



REAL DEL MONTE 



2282 



RIVERA 



R 



Real del Monte (ni-dl'ddl mdn'td), one 
of the most famous mining towns in Mexico, 
is but a short distance from Pachuca, by 
which it is connected by an excellent high- 
way built by the mining company of Real 
del Monte years ago. The place was founded 
in 1739 by a Spaniard, who began mining 
there. Some !$5o,ooo,ooo have been taken 
out of these mines. In the neighborhood 
are other famous mines, but none so noted 
as the Real del Monte. 

Rebosada, La. See Malinche, La. 

Reeds, Prince of the. See Acamapitzin. 

Remedios {rd-md'de-os), Our Lady of, 
at one time the most noted shrine in all 
Mexico, is situated upon the high hill of 
Totoltepec, close to the town of San Bartolo 
Naocalpam, nine miles to the west of the 
City of Mexico. Upon this hill, in Aztec 
times, there existed a semi-fortress, semi- 
temple dedicated to the God of the Streams 
and Rivers and his sister, the Goddess of 
the Waters that Descend from the Sky. It 
was one of the most famous sanctuaries in 
all Aztecland; but the saint got badly mixed 
up in politics and she was unfortunate 
enough to take the wrong side at the most 
critical period in Mexican history. After 
the famous battle of Las Cruces, 18 10, 
when Hidalgo, the father of Mexican inde- 
pendence, was threatening the Capital of 
the republic with his victorious army, the 
terrified officials of the City of Mexico sent 
in haste for the little image of Our Lady 
of los Remedios, its patron saint, which 
was brought, with great ceremony, to the 
capital and made the general in chief of 
the armies of the king of Spain in New 
Spain (Mexico). This act of the Spanish 
authorities turned the Mexicans against 
Our Lady of los Remedios, and they be- 
stowed upon her the contemptuous name 
of "La Gachupina" (the Spaniard). From 
that day the shrine lost its popularity; 
and an order was issued by the triumphant 
republican government in 1821 to expel 
from Mexico Our Lady of los Remedios; 
however this order was never carried out. 

The history of the shrine of los Reme- 
dios is a very romantic one. One of the 
soldiers of the conqueror, Hernan Cortes, 
brought with him from Spain a little wooden 
image about eight inches long, of Our Lady 
of los Remedios. During the first visit of 
Cortes to the City of Tenochtitlan (Mexico) , 
permission was granted him by the emperor, 
Moctezuma II, to set up an altar to the 
Christian God in the great temple of the 
Aztecs. As the most venerated thing in 
the army of the conqueror, this image of 
Our Lady of los Remedios was placed over 



this the first altar of the Christian religion 
erected in Mexico. When the Spaniards 
were forced to retreat from the city of 
Mexico shortly afterwards, the owner took 
this image with him. Two days later he 
was wounded to death in the attack which 
the Spaniards made upon the sanctuary 
upon the hill of Totoltepec. Twenty years 
later (1540), this image was found by an 
Indian chief, Cequauhtzin, who was out 
hunting upon the hillside. He took it 
home; but the next morning it was miss- 
ing. Something told the chief that he 
would find it on the hill of Totoltepec; ahd 
he went to look for it and found it under 
the same maguey plant where he had first 
seen it. Again he took it home and put it 
in a strong box and locked it in with an 
iron padlock. But the following morning 
the image had again disappeared. Again 
it was found under the maguey plant. A 
third attempt to keep it in the house of 
the chief had a like result. Then the latter 
went to the priest at Tacuba and told him 
what had happened. The latter interpreted 
these events to mean that the image wished 
a shrine built upon the hill of Totoltepec, 
which was done. It soon became the most 
famous sanctuary in Mexico and the faith- 
ful showered presents and wealth upon it 
until it became as rich as it was famous. 
But the reformers robbed it of its paint- 
ings, its rich ornaments of gold and silver 
and its other valuable possessions. For 
twoscore years it remained a semi-neglected, 
half-ruinous place; but lately the church 
has made some attempt at restoring it; 
though most of the renovations are in very 
bad taste. The shrine is still v.ery much 
reverenced by the Indians of the neighbor- 
hood, as in the days when it was the chief 
sanctuary in all Mexico of the Gods of 
the Waters. 

Revillagigedo, Count of. See Guemes 
Pacheco de Padilla and also Guemes 

DE HORCASITA. 

Rivera (re-vdr'd), Agustin (1824- ), 
lawyer, priest and attorney for the Eccle- 
siastical Curia of Mexico is one of the most 
voluminous writers of the present century, 
his published works amounting to close upon 
one hundred volumes, the best of which 
are: History of Ancient Mexico; Principles 
of Criticism; The Viccroyalty of New Spain 
and the Philosophy of New Spain. As a 
historical writer he'is one of the best Mexico 
has produced. His power of criticism in 
all literary matters is accurate and con- 
vincing and his marshaling of historical 
characters and his analysis of great events 
powerful and masterly. 



RIVERA 



2283 



SALAZAR 



Rivera, Enriquez de. See Enriquez 
DE Rivera. 

Roa Barcena, Jose Maria. See Barcena. 

Ruiz {roo-es') , Eduardo (1832- ), his- 
torian, poet and writer of delightful prose, 
is most noted for his legends and folk-lore 
stories. These latter comprise two books: 



Traditions and Legends and Legends of 
Michoacan. In these he shows his intimate 
knowledge of the lives of the people of 
Mexico, more especially of the middle and 
lower classes. The History of the Inter- 
vention in Michoacan is his best known his- 
torical work. 



Sacro Monte (sdk'ro mon'td). The, a 
famous shrine on the hill of the same name, 
close to the town of Amecameca, in _ the 
state of Mexico. In this sanctuary _ is a 
very much revered image of the Christ of 
the Holy Sepulchre, of which the follow- 
ing legend is related and believed by the 
pious inhabitants of Amecameca and the 
surrounding country. Here lived Fray 
Martin de Valencia, one of the ''twelve 
apostles" in the early days following the 
conquest of Mexico by Cortes. He lived 
upon the top of the Sacro Monte (Sacred 
Hill) in a cave, which is now part of the 
sanctuary. He was very much beloved by 
the Indians whom he protected from their 
cruel taskmasters. During one of his 
parochial visits, he died and was buried at 
Tlalmanalco. The Indians of Amecameca 
claimed his body, but the people of Tlal- 
manalco refused to deliver up the remains 
of the saint which they claimed heaven had 
sent to them; but the Indians rose in a 
body from all over the valley and went 
one night and took the dead saint and 
buried him in the cave on the top of the 
Sacro Monte, where he still rests. 

Legend says that some Spanish mer- 
chants were bringing from Veracruz to 
Mexico City figures of saints for the churches 
which were springing up all over the land 
of New Spain shortly after the Spanish 
conquest. One of the mules bearing these 
strayed away from the others and presented 
himself at the door of the cave of the good 
Fray Martin de Valencia on the top of the 
Sacro Monte, who took the image in and 
set it up beneath an altar of its own. Since 
that day it is accredited with working 
scores of miracles. Thousands of pilgrims 
visit this shrine annually, especially during 
Holy Week, when a great fair is held in 
the town, which on this occasion is always 
overcrowded with people. On Ash Wednes- 
day the sacred image of the Sacro Monte 
is taken to the parish church in Amecameca, 
from whence it is returned to the Sacro 
Monte on Good Friday with great pomp 



and much show of devotion and veneration. 
Before the laws of reform prohibited religious 
processions in pubHc, the return of the 
image to the Sacro Monte was the occasion 
of a most gorgeous religious procession. _ 

Sagrario Metropolitano {sdg-rdr'e-d 
mdt'rd-pol'e-tdn'o) (The Parish Church of 
Mexico City), forms part of the huge pile 
of buildings of which the Cathedral (which 
see) forms the major part. It stands upon 
the site of the great Aztec TeocalU or mam 
temple of ancient Mexico at the time of 
the conquest. Legend says it was founded 
in 1 52 1, the year of the conquest, and was; 
dedicated to Saint James, the patron saint. 
of Spain. However, the present building: 
was begun in 1749 and completed, with the 
exception of the main altar, in 1770. The^ 
latter was completed nearly 60 years later.. 
It is one of the handsomest buildings in: 
Mexico, being constructed in the most 
elaborate Churrigueresque style. The gen- 
eral plan is that of a Greek cross. This 
church, like the Cathedral, contains many 
fine paintings and much excellent wood 
carvings. 

Sahagun {sd' d-gddn') , Bernardo de, a 
Spanish priest who arrived in Mexico- 
shortly after the Spanish conquest, as a. 
member of the Franciscan order. He was 
naturally a student of a very observant 
nature and he has left us the most authentic 
history of native Mexican life of that time 
that we have, under the title of General 
History of Things of New Spain.^ During 
30 years of incessant work and investiga- 
tion, Sahagun collected together a wonder- 
ful amount of information relative to the 
customs, habits, and religious beliefs of the 
ancient Mexicans, all of which he has incor- 
porated into his work, which comprises 
three large volumes. 

Salazar (sdl'd-sdr'), Pedro Castro Fig- 
ueroa, Duke of the Conquest and Marquis 
of Garcia Real, 38th viceroy of New Spain 
(i 740-1 741), fearing that the English, who 
had been repulsed in an attack upon San 
Agustin in Florida, would come south and 



SALTILLO 



2284 



SOLIS 



sack Veracruz, marched with such forces as 
he could muster to that port to put it in 
a condition to resist the exi)ected mvaders. 
While there he was attacked with yellow 
fever. He was at once reinoved to Mexico 
City, where he died shortly after his arrival. 

Saltillo (sdl-tc'yo) , on the main line of 
the national branch of the National Rail- 
ways of Mexico, is the capital of the state 
•of Coahuila. As it lies 5,200 feet above 
sea level, the climate is temperate and 
agreeable. Its chief manufactures are cot- 
ton goods, zerapes and leather. It also 
exports agricultural products and sheep and 
goat skins. Saltillo was founded in 1586. 
Population iS,ooo. 

San Carlos (sd)i kd/los) Academy, offi- 
cially known as the National School of 
Fine" Arts. See Academy, San Carlos. 

Sandoval, Caspar de la Cerda. See 

SiLVA Y MeNDOZA. 

San Fernando {siin' far-nan' do) Pantheon, 

the most famous cemetery in Mexico, to the 
east side of the church of the same name 
in the Capital of the republic, is the burial 
place of some of the most noted of Mexico's 
dead. There may be seen the tombs of 
Guerrero, Zaragoza, Miramon, Comonfort 
and Juarez. The tomb of the latter is one 
of the most elaborate and artistic in Mexico. 

San Luis Potosi (san'ldd-es po'td-se') 
(See p. 1673), one of the most important 
of the states of Mexico bordering on Coa- 
huila, Nueva Leon, Veracruz, Tamaulipas, 
Hidalgo, Queretaro, Jalisco, Guanajuato 
and Zacatecas, has an area of 25,300 square 
miles and a population of 650,000. The 
climate ranges from, temperate to exces- 
sively warm. The northern part of the 
state" is essentially mineral and the industry 
mining, and the east agricultural. It is 
crossed by two lines of the Mexican Na- 
tional lines. 

Santa Anna, Gen. Antonio Lopez de. 
See jjp. 1672, 1675. 

Sierra {se-dr'ra), Juste (1S4S- ), 
educator, orator, novelist, historian, diplo- 
mat, and poet, is one of the prominent 
figures in the Capital of Mexico, where he 
was, some few years ago, the leader of a 
brilliant group of literary men and journal- 
ists. He has left his mark on the literature 
of his country decidedly for its good. For 
some years past he has been minister of 
education and fine arts, and as such he 
has encouraged the literary, scientific and 
educational development of the country. 
He is considered one of the most forcible 
and logical public speakers that Mexico has 
produced. His style as a writer is elevated, 
pure and imaginative. As minister of 
education he has done more to advance 
education in Mexico than any other man 
who has held the office. For several years 
past he has been a member of congress, 
where he has distinguished himself for his 
advocacy of progressive ideas. He is a 



corresjwnding member of the Royal Spanish 
Academy and of various other literary and 
scientific societies, not only in Mexico but 
in foreign lands. In addition to several 
books of poems and a vast amount of 
journalistic articles he has published the 
following successful novels: The Angel of 
the Future and The Confessions of a Pianist. 

Sierra Mad re. See p. 1754. 

Silao {se-ld'o), on the main line of the 
Mexican division of the National railways 
of Mexico, in the state of Guanajuato, is 
the center of considerable trade. It has 
several fine churches, some of them of con- 
siderable age. The city was founded in 
1553- Population 20,000. 

Silva y Mendoza (sel'vd e man-do' tha) , 
Gasper de la Cerda Sandoval, Count of 
Galve, 29th viceroy of New Spain (1688— 
1696), sent a strong expedition in 1695 to 
attack the French colony on the island of 
Hispaniola, which, according to a chron- 
icler of that time, "covered itself with 
glory;" for the Spaniards conquered all the 
northern part of the island. In 1689 the 
Tarahumares, Tepehuanes and other north- 
ern tribes of Indians devastated the country 
for many miles around, killing Mexicans 
and Spaniards alike; among those who per- 
ished being many Catholic priests. In 
1 69 1 Texas was conquered and made a 
province of New Spain. 

During this administration there were 
two famines, one in 1692 and another in 
1694. On account of the former there was 
an uprising of the populace, who burned 
the city hall, the viceregal palace and the 
stores on the Zocalo, the principal plaza 
of Mexico City, causing a loss of over three 
millions of dollars, an immense sum for 
those days. 

Sinaloa {se' nd-ld' a) , one of the Pacific 
states of Mexico, l3ordering on Sonora, 
Chihuahua, Durango and Tepic and facing 
the Gulf of California, has an area of 36,- 
100 square miles. It is quite mountainous, 
its general slope being toward the west. 
It contains plenty of small streams and 
rivers, all rapid and generally unnavigable. 
Principal cities: Mazatlan, the chief port; 
Culiacan, the capital; Altata and Rosario 
(a mining center) . Chief products : Brand}'', 
cotton, sugar, corn, chick-peas, wheat, 
tobacco, woods and fruit. The state pos- 
sesses great mineral wealth, practically 
undeveloped as yet for lack of proper 
transportation facilities. Population 300,- 
000. 

Smoking Shield. See Chimalpopoca. 

Solis {so-les'), Juan F. Molina (1850- 
), historian, educator, jurist and writer 
on political and economic subjects. Among 
a considerable amount of literary work he 
has written two books which have become 
authorities on the subjects of which they 
treat: History of the Discovery and Con- 
quest of Yucatan and A Summary of the 



SONORA 



2285 



TAMAULIPAS 



Ancient History of the Pemnsula. These 
two books show extensive research and a 
comprehensive and accurate knowledge of 
the subjects of which they treat. As 
literary works they are far above the aver- 
age of local and state histories written m 
Mexico. ^ , ^ , 

Sonora (sd-nd'rd), one of the west coast 
states of Mexico, bordering on the United 
States, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Lower Cali- 
fornia and the Gulf of California, has an 
area of 77,000 square miles and a popula- 
tion of 230,000. It may be said to com- 
prise one great slope from the Sierra Madres 
to the Gulf of California, all of which is 
very mountainous and interspersed with 
valleys, lakes and canons, watered by 
numerous rivers and streams, the principal 
of which are the Altar, Sonora, Yaqui and 
Mayo The island of Tiburon forms part 
of this state (which see). The climate 
varies from extreme cold to extreme heat. 



The chief industries of the state are cattle 
raising, agriculture and mining, and the 
chief products sugar, cotton, chick-peas, 
brandy, corn, wheat, tobacco, , barley, fri- 
joles (native brown and black beans), 
mescal, potatoes, chili (native red pepper), 
minerals and fruits. Chief cities, Her- 
mosillo, the capital; Guaymas, principal 
seaport; Cananea, Alamos, Arispe and 
Ures. 

Sotomayor {sd'to-md-yor'), Garcia bar= 
miento, Count of Salvatierra, igth vice- 
roy of New Spain (1642-1649). During his 
administration the City of Mexico suffered 
an inundation, the town of Salvatierra was 
founded, a third expedition was sent to 
California and a bitter quarrel arose be- 
tween Bishop Juan Palafox of Puebla and 
the Jesuits, which made the latter body 
unpopular with the church in New Spain 
for some years. 

Strongbow. See Moctezuma I. 



Tabasco (td-bds'ko), one of the southern 
gulf states of Mexico, lying between Gua- 
temala, Campeche, Veracruz and Chiapas, 
has a population of 200,000 and an area of 
10,000 square miles. It is a vast _ plain, 
sloping gently from the mountains of 
Chiapas and Tabasco to the Gulf of Mexico, 
covered in many parts with dense tropical 
forests and containing vast stores of valu- 
able woods. Owing to the fiat nature of 
the country it contains many deep and slow 
rivers which are navigable for long distances. 
Among these are the Grijalva and the 
Usumacinta, with their many branches. 
Agriculture, cattle raising and fishing, with 
the exportation of valuable woods are the 
chief industries of the state. Chief products : 
Brandy, cacao, sugar, petroleum, coffee, 
henequen, chicle (chewing gum), frijoles, 
rubber, tobacco, corn and fruits. Chief 
cities: San Juan Bautista, the capital and 
chief commercial center, Tonala and Fron- 
tera. 

Tablado (tdv-ld' tho) , Jose Juan (187 1- 
), the most discussed of the younger 
literary men of Mexico. He is little in 
sympathy with the prevailing school, yet 
he has many admirers among the foremost 
literary men of the republic. In his color- 
ing, his imagery and his manner pi pre- 
senting his ideas he is oriental, daring and 
original. Critics have classed him as a 
degenerate in literature; but his is a degen- 



eracy of fire and passion; He is an agnostic, 
but one who tempers his beUef with beau- 
tiful visions such as only the true poetic 
temperament may see. Tablado has also 
made his mark as a journalist. 

Tacuba (td-kod'ha), a town a short dis- 
tance to the west of Mexico City, with 
which it is connected by tramway. It is 
a very old town, having been, in pre- 
Columbian days, the capital of the king- 
dom of Tlacopan, which, later on, became 
one of the three members of the famous 
Aztec confederacy, which lasted, for nearly 
one hundred years. The town contains a 
very large and handsome church, and there 
also is the country residence of the arch- 
bishop of Mexico. 

Talamanca, Miguel la Qrua. See Grua 
Talamanca. 

Tamaulipas {td-md' oo-le' pds) , the most 
northern gulf state of Mexico, bordering 
on the United States, San Luis Potosi, 
Nuevo Leon and Veracruz, has an area of 
32,000 square miles and a population of 
250,000. It forms one general slope toward 
the Gulf of Mexico and consists of numerous 
plains, rich in vegetation and well watered 
by numerous streams, and rivers, the most 
important of which are the Bravo, Salado, 
San Juan, Presas Soto la Marina, Tamesi 
and Valles. The climate ranges from tem- 
perate in the uplands to the west to exces- 
sively warm and often unhealthful along 



TAMIAHUA 



2286 



TERMIXOS 



''-he coast. The principal industries of the 
state are cattle raising and agriculture, and 
the chief products corn, rice, sugar, cotton, 
brandy, petroleum, frijoles (native brown 
beans) and fruits. The most important 
towns are Victoria, the capital, Tampico, 
Matamoros, Laredo and Guerrero. 

Tamiahua {id'me-d''wd). La Laguna de, 
an extensive lagoon on the coast of the 
state of Veracruz, Mexico, which forms an 
inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, from which it 
is almost cut off by a sand bar, the exten- 
sion of which forms the wall between it 
and the waters of the gulf. About the 
center of this sand wall is a high, rocky 
projection known as Cape Rojo. 

Tampico {idm-pe'ko), in the state of 
Tamaulipas, Mexico, is one of the two 
greatest harbors on the Mexican Gulf Coast 
of the republic. Originally the sand bar at 
the mouth of the harbor made it unsafe; 
but the Mexican government has lately 
spent large sums of money upon this port, 
thus fitting it for the reception of ocean- 
going vessels. It now has as fine wharves 
as any port in Mexico, and its trade has 
increased so rapidly that it has become a 
close rival of Veracruz, upon which the 
Mexican government has also spent large 
sums of money. See p. 1S68. 

Tendilla, Count of. See Mendoza, 

AXTONIO DE. 

Tenochtitlan (td-nosh'tet-ldn') (the place 
of the Sacred Nopal or cactus), the name 
by which Mexico City was generally known 
in Aztec times. It is related by legend that 
the Aztecs, in their wanderings in the 
Valley of Mexico, and probably before their 
advent into that part of "Mexico, had 
received the assurance of an oracle of great 
renown that they would receive a sign 
which they would at once recognize, which 
would indicate to them where they should 
end their w^anderings and begin to build a 
great city, the metropolis of a future great 
empire. This sign was given to them one 
day, w^hen they beheld a great golden eagle, 
"bright as the sun," struggling with a 
huge serpent, which he finally mastered, 
and flying across Lake Texcoco, alighted 
upon one of a small group of islands, lying 
some little distance from the shore. They 
followed the eagle and found him seated 
upon a cactus plant, the dead serpent still 
in his claws. The Aztecs took this to 
signify that the oracle wished to tell them 
that their wanderings were over, and that 
they would finally vanquish their enemies, 
as the golden eagle had done. They at 
once took possession of these islands, which 
they fortified, defended and continued to 
hold. In time they builded a city there, 
which they called after the miraculous find- 
ing of the place, Tenochtitlan. See Mexico 
City. 

Teotihuacan {td'o-te'wd-kdn'), San Juan, 
the greatest of all the ruins of ancient 



cities upon the upland plateaus of Mexico, 
28 miles north of Mexico City on the line 
of the Mexican Railway, was, in the latter 
days of the Toltec dominion, the center of 
a vast population, and the site of a great 
city, whose remains can still be traced for 
miles around the two great pyramids of the 
"Sun" and the "Moon," the most con- 
spicuous archaeological monuments of the 
plateau upon which the ancient city was 
built. On account of the vast size of these 
pyramids, it is probable that they were the 
work of various tribes and nations who 
occupied the "Sacred City," one after an- 
other, each of which felt it a religious duty 
to increase the size of each of the pyramids. 
The ancient city, judging from the ruins 
still existing, was more than seven miles in 
length by practically the same in width. 
In the neighborhood are vast ancient 
quarries, showing the enormous amount of 
material that was used for the building of 
the now ruined and partially buried City 
of the Gods. The larger of the two great 
pyramids, upon the tops of which rested 
the sanctuaries of the most sacred gods of 
the Toltecs, that of the "Sun," is colossal 
in size, measuring 761 feet in length by 
722 feet wide. Lately the greater part of 
this ruined pyramid has been restored to 
more or less its original form and appear- 
ance by order of the Mexican government, 
which is spending large sums of money on 
archaeological explorations among the 
remains of this once great city of the 
Toltecs. The pyramid of the "Moon," 
though considerably smaller than that of 
the Sun, is still of vast extent, measuring 
511 by 427 feet square. Its original height 
cannot be ascertained, as much of the top 
has been washed down by rains in the 
course of the centuries, and the foot is 
buried in ruins. 

Tepic (td-pek'), a territory of Mexico, 
lying on the Pacific Coast and bordering 
on Sinaloa, Durango and Jalisco, has an 
area of 12,000 square miles and a popula- 
tion of 175,000, principally Indians. It is 
excessively rough toward the east and in- 
clined to be flat toward the coast. The 
soil is generally rich and the mountains are 
storehouses of undeveloped minerals, due 
to the broken character of the country and 
lack of railway and other classes of trans- 
portation. Its chief rivers are the San 
Pedro (Mesquital) and Grande (Santiago 
Tololotlan) and its principal industries agri- 
culture and cattle raising. Notwithstand- 
ing the disadvantages of lack of trans- 
portation the territory produces yearly 
minerals to the value of $6,000,000. 

Terminos {tdr'me-nos'), Lagunade, known 
as the Lagoon of the Alligators, is a large 
lagoon, or, more properly, a gulf, which is 
cut off from the Gulf of Mexico by several 
sand bars, which stretch across its exten- 
sive mouth. Two of these bars, which are 



TERRAZAS 



2287 



TRES MARIAS 



of considerable extent, are known as Car- 
men and Port Royal Islands. 

Terrazas {tdr-rds' as) , Francisco de, who 

died about 1604, was the son of one of the 
conquerors who came with Cortes to Mexico. 
?Ie was a poet of some note, the first which 
New Spain produced, and various of his 
compositions have survived, outliving the 
record of his birth and the chief events of 
his life. 

Texcoco (tds-ko'ko), the largest lake in 
the Valley of Mexico, which gave 'its name 
to the Nahuatl (near to the water) nation 
and to the kingdom of Texcoco. It was 
originally much larger than at present, and 
is said to have occupied, in Aztec times, 
one-third of the valley. Around its shore 
were waged many of the bloody wars which 
make up the history of early Aztec struggles 
and conquests. Upon the eastern shore of 
this lake was the kingdom of Texcoco, the 
farthest advanced in civilization of all the 
Nahuatl tribes. At the time of the Spanish 
conquest of Mexico, it was the center of 
the highest culture then known to the 
allied nations which formed the Aztec con- 
federacy. The town of Texcoco still exists, 
but it is but a comparatively unimportant 
village. 

Three Guarantees, The, which were the 
principal clauses of the "Plan of Iguala," 
published Feb. 24, 1820, by Agustin de 
Iturbide, afterwards emperor of Mexico, 
were as follows: That all other religions, 
except that of the Roman Catholic, should 
be excluded from Mexico; that Mexico 
should be a limited monarchy, with some 
member of the then reigning house of Spain 
upon the throne, the absolute independence 
of Mexico, with this one restriction of 
monarchial rule, being recognized; the union 
of Mexicans and Spaniards in the making 
and ruling of the new kingdom of Mexico. 
See Mexican Flag. 

Tiburon {te'bdd-ron) , an island in the 
Gulf of Lower California, lying close to the 
coast of the state of Sonora, Mexico. Its 
coast is high and rocky and elevated moun- 
tains form its center. For this reason the 
original Indian inhabitants have maintained 
their independence and customs, which are 
very primitive. The island belongs to 
Mexico, but the inhabitants, who are sav- 
ages, practically govern themselves. 

Tizoc {te-sok'), seventh king of Mexico 
(1477-1482), the elder brother of Axayacatl, 
whom he succeeded, was like his prede- 
cessors, a great conqueror. He is said to 
have subdued fourteen important cities 
during his short reign of five years. He 
was grave and severe and made enemies by 
his haughty bearing, one of whom, the 
Prince of Ixtapalapa, poisoned him. The 
latter was publicly executed on the great 
plaza of Mexico for his crime. Tizoc began 
the erection of the Great Temple upon the 
site of the present Cathedral of Mexico. 



TIaxcala {tlds-ka'ld) (see p. 462), the 
once famous republic that held in check the 
power of the Aztec confederacy, is now the 
smallest of the Mexican states, having an 
area of but 1,500 square miles and popula- 
tion of about 200,000. It borders on 
Hidalgo, Puebla and Mexico. Its chief in- 
dustries are agriculture, cattle raising, 
dairying and manufactures. It is sur- 
rounded by high mountains, and the clirriate 
in general is inclined to be cool. The culti- 
vation of the maguey is carried on exten- 
sively throughout the state. Chief towns, 
TIaxcala, Apizaco and Huamantla. 

TIaxcala (tlds-kd' Id) , the capital of the 
state of the same name, a town of 6,000, 
was once the center of the power of the 
republic of TIaxcala, which defied the 
strength of the Aztec confederacy in the 
height of its power. The Tlaxcalans were 
the first people of importance who threw in 
their lot with the conqueror, Hernan 
Cortes, in his march to the city of Tenochtit- 
lan (Mexico) ; and it was principally'- through 
their efficient help that he succeeded in 
overthrowing the power of the confederacy. 
See Tlaxcala, the state of. 

Toledo {to-ld'tho), Sebastian de, i\Iar- 
quis de Mancera, 24th viceroy of Xew 
Spain (1664-1673), sent two expeditions 
to California, neither of which accom- 
plished much. During his administration 
a plague of pirates troubled the coasts 
of New Spain, and the viceroy was unable 
to do anything to prevent their ravages and 
exactions. 

Toluca (td-look'd) , the capital of the state 
of Mexico, on a branch of the National Rail- 
ways of Mexico, is the center of an exten- 
sive trade pertaining to the Valley of Toluca 
and the lands stretching toward the Pacific 
Ocean. On account of its high elevation, 
8,600 feet above sea level, the climate is 
always cool and generally agreeable, though 
it becomes quite cold in winter. The city 
possesses some of the finest state buildings 
in the republic and many fine churches and 
private residences. It was founded in 1533, 
twelve years after the Spanish conquest, and 
was part of a grant of land given by the 
king of Spain to the conqueror, Hernan 
Cortes. Population 25,000. 

Topolobampo {to-pol-o-hdm'pd), a fine 
natural port in the state of Sinaloa, 
Mexico, which seems destined to become 
one of the most important shipping points 
of the republic, being the Pacific terminus 
of the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient 
Railway. This port is also known as Port 
Stillwell. 

Tres Marias {trds md-re'ds), a group of 
islands in the Pacific Ocean, opposite the 
mouth of the River Santiago, in the terri- 
tory of Tepic, Mexico, which are at present 
used as a penal colony by the Mexican 
government. There are sent many convicts 
every year, especially from the Capital of 



TULA 



2288 



VEGA 



the republic. There are three principal 
islands in the group, and upon one of these 
is an excellent lighthouse. 

Tula (ioo'ld) (the place of rushes), a 
t< :vn of about ;,ooo upon the line of the 
Mexican Central Railway, in the state of 
Hidalgo, and about 50 miles north of Mexico 
City. It is now of little importance; but it 



was once the greatest city of the Toltecs; 
and there exist there some very interesting 
ruins of the Toltec period of occupation. 
Tula was one of the three great cities of 
the Toltecs, the others being Tollancingo 
(Little, or probably .\ew Tollan or Tula) 
and San Juan Teotihuacan (the City of 
the Gods). 



Ulua (dd-Iod'a), San Juan de, an old fort 
of historical interest situated on a small 
island in the harbor of Veracruz. At the 
time of the conquest by Cortes the island 
was used byj^the Aztecs, who then held the 
coast land tributary, as a place of sacrifices. 
It is said that when the Spaniards found 
these sacrifices going on the priest. Father 
Olmedo, who afterwards became famous on 
account of his part in the conquest, asked 
the natives who ordered them, to which the 
answer was given "the Colhuas" (Strong 
Arms), a name by which the Aztecs were 
known to the coast people. This name be- 
came corrupted into Ulua, to which was 
prefixed San Juan, because that place was 
reached on Saint John's day. The fort of 
Ulua was begun in 1582, and the Spaniards 
kept adding to it and strengthening it for 
over two centuries, for it was considered the 
key to Veracruz. It was captured several 
times by pirates, by the French (1838), 
Americans (1847) and the allied English 



Spanish and French (1S65). It is now used 

as a fortress and prison. 

Urbina (dor-be' nd), Luis Q. (1868- ), 

the best of the younger romantic poets of 
Mexico. In the prom- 
inent journals of the 
capital his name fig- 
ures more frequently 
than that of any other 
of the later poets. 
His style is clear, his 
imagery bold and he 
shows a wonderful 
mastery of the nice- 
ties of the Spanish 
language. Most of 
his productions have 
appeared in the press 
of the Capital during 
the past score of 
years. 

Ursula, Bucareli 
See Bucareli y Ursula. 




LUIS G. URBINA 



Valero, Marquis of. See Zuniga Guzman. 
Valladares {vdl-yd-ddr'ds), Jose Sar= 

miento. Count of Moctezuma and Tula, 
31st viceroy of Mexico (i 696-1701), whose 
wife was a descendant of the ancient kings 
of Mexico, made considerable efi'ort to relieve 
the sufferings of the populace caused by an 
extensive famine in New Spain. During his 
administration the Jesuits, in conformity 
with permission previously given them 
(See Ortega Montanes), set out to con- 
vert to Christianity the natives of Cali- 



fornia, where they continued to labor until 
they were expelled from all the Spanish 
dominions in 1767. On Oct. 20, 1696, 
Popocatepetl (Mountain of Smoke), the 
giant volcano that overlooks the Valley of 
Mexico, and whose snow-capped peak can 
be seen distinctly from the Capital, burst 
suddenly into eruption. 

Vega, Francisco Cajigal de la. See 
Cajigal; 

Vega, Laso de la. See Laso de la 
Vega. 



VELASCO 



2289 



VERAGUAS 



Velasco {vd-lds'ko), Luis de, 2d vice- 
roy of New Spain (i 550-1 564), v/as so 
popular with Mexicans and Spaniards alike 
that, out of love for him, they applied to 
him the title of "father of the country." 
He enforced to the letter the laws which had 
been passed for the protection of the Indians, 
and he set free 150,000 of the latter who had 
been enslaved by the Spaniards. He sent a 
military expedition to Florida, which rnet 
with some success, he established a special 
court for the prosecution of robbers and 
thieves, inaugurated the University of Mex- 
ico (1553), btiilt a hospital for the Indians 
and in many other ways showed himself a 
public spirited man. 

Velasco {vd-lds'ko), Luis ds, 8th vice- 
'roy of New Spain (1590-1595), was sonof 
the second viceroy of New Spain. He in- 
terested himself in the industrial develop- 
ment of the country, established woolen 
factories, sent missionaries among the In- 
dians to the north to teach them the ways 
of peace and the Christian religion, and he 
fitted out an expedition which visited New 
Mexico, which was then the fabled unknown 
kingdom of great riches, to which the eyes 
of the Spanish world constantly turned. 
He made peace with the Chichimeca tribes 
and sent settlers from other parts of Mexico 
among them, thus thinking, by their pres- 
ence and example, to insure the future 
peace of the country. During his admin- 
istration the Philippines were made a part 
of the country of New Spain. 

Velasco was promoted to the viceroyalty 
of Peru; but he returned to New Spain, 
where he occupied the post of iith 
viceroy. During his second administration 
the City of Mexico was flooded, which led 
to a commission being appointed to study 
the question of the drainage of the Valley 
of Mexico. As a result, the drainage works 
of Huehuetoca were begun, under the direc- 
tion of a Jesuit priest by the name of San- 
chez and a foreign engineer of note named 
Martinez. Like his father, Velasco passed 
laws for the protection of the Indians. 
After having received the title of Marquis 
of Salinas, Velasco was appointed president 
of the Council of the Indies. 

Venegas, {vd-nd'gds), Francisco Javier 
de, 58th viceroy of New Spain (1810-1813), 
was on his way from Veracruz to Mexico 
City, to take possession of his office, when 
the news was brought to him that a revolu- 
tion had broken out under the leadership of 
the patriot priest, Miguel Hidalgo of 
Dolores; and he hastened his journey to 
the Capital. On arriving there he at once 
hurried to the theatre of the revolution the 
troops quartered in Mexico City, and sent 
after them military forces from other 
cities. The total forces thus sent to put 
down the revolution amounted to some 
12,000 men. The inquisition and the church 
in general throughout Mexico sided with 



the viceroy and Spanish authority; and 
Hidalgo and his followers were excom- 
municated. The viceroy offered a reward 
of $10,000 for the capture of the revolu- 
tionary leader and his two principal officers, 
Aldama and AUende, dead or alive. But 
the torrent of the revolution was too 
strong to be retarded or arrested in this 
way. Plidalgo continued his triumphal 
march; and more forces had to be collected 
and sent against him. But hundreds of 
new adherents came into the camp of the 
revolutionists; and, after capturing Guan- 
ajuato, the principal city in his march, 
Hidalgo headed for Mexico City, with more 
than 80,000 men under his command. At 
the battle of Las Cruces, which took place 
a short distance from the Capital, the forces 
of the viceroy were defeated and fear 
reigned in Mexico City. But Hidalgo did 
not dare to attack the Capital, and shortly 
afterwards began his retreat northward. 
His defeat, capture and death form part of 
the history of the revolutionary leader (see 
Hidalgo). A plot was laid to seize the 
viceroy (Aug. 11, 1811) in the Capital, 
throw him into the hands of the revolu- 
tionary leaders and force him to sign such 
arrangements as they saw fit, but it was 
discovered, and the leader, Ferrer and 
others, were executed while many were 
exiled. The Spanish court, in the Constitu- 
tion of 181 2, guaranteed the liberty of the 
press and the inviolability of municipal and 
other elections. These concessions were 
received with great joy by the liberal party 
in Mexico, who saw in them the indepen- 
dence of the country foreshadowed. But 
Venegas, after trying the new laws, was 
forced to suspend them, as they acted as 
a breeze to the fire of revolution instead of 
helping to quench it. The natural result 
was more discontent than before. Matters 
going badly at home, Venegas who was one ■ 
of the first generals of Spain, was recalled to 
the peninsula as one of the leaders of the 
stru'T^^Iing Spanish cause. See Morelos. 

Veracruz {vd'rd-krdds) (see, pp. 1303, 
2001, 1 7 10 and 1675), the most important 
of the gulf states of Mexico; bounded by 
Tamaulipas, Puebla, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, San 
Luis Potosi and Chiapas, has an area of 
24,000 square miles and a population of 
990,000. In general it is inclined toward 
the Gulf of Mexico, is excessively warm 
along the coast, temperate farther inland 
and cold in the mountainous regions which 
form the western side of the state. The 
principal cities are Veracruz, Jalapa (the 
capital), Orizaba, a manufacturing town of 
considerable importance, Cordoba, Coatepec, 
the center of the coffee industry, Coatza- 
coalcos (Puerto Mexico), Minatitlan, Pap- 
antla, Tuxpan, San Andres Tuxtla, Tlaco- 
talpain and Alvarado. 

Veraguas, Duke of. See Colon db 
Portugal. 



VERDAD 



2290 



WATER RAT 



Verdad {vdr-thaih') , Liccnciado, looked 
upon as the first martyr to Mexican inde- 
pendence, was very active during the 
administration of the viceroy, Iturrigaray, 
in propagating ideas of independence, and 
he was, to a certain extent, protected by 
the viceroy; but the latter was seized by the 
Spanish faction in the Capital and shipped 
back to Spain. Verdad was also seized 
and imprisoned in the Archiepiscopal Palace, 
where reports say that he was poisoned 
by order of the new viceroy, Pedro de 
Garibay. 

Viga {vc'gd). Canal, a slow waterway 
connecting Lake Xochimilco with Lake 
Texcoco and passing through Mexico City. 
All day it is teeming with native life, bear- 
ing as it does the products of the garden 
regions to the south of the city to the 
Capital. The towns along its banks are 
characteristically Indian, and a trip to 
Santa Anita, about five miles out, is one 
always offered to the tourist, as being as 
typical of the life of the lower class of 
Mexico as anything to be found so close 
to the railways and centers of civilization. 
The Viga lies along the old road to the 
Hill of the Star (which see), and even be- 
fore it was necessary to drain the lakes, 
which were once all on nearly the sarne 
level, it was the scene of the great pil- 
grimages which were made to this famous 
shrine in the days before the white man 
had discovered the Americas. It is there- 
fore one of the oldest landmarks in Mexico. 
Once a year, on Thursday of Easter week, 
a flower carnival, which is the direct descen- 
dant of the feast of Quetzalcoatl, the Fair 
God, of Toltec and Aztec times, is cele- 
brated. The old heathen custom lasted an 
Aztec week, and so did its successor; but 
now it is observed only on one day. Like 
the olden festival, it begins at sunset and 
ends about ten o'clock in the morning. 
See Flower Festival. 

Vigil {ve-hel'), Jose Maria (1829-1909), 
journalist, statesman, poet, scholar, editor, 
publisher and dramatist of note, member of 
various literary and scientific societies in 
Mexico and Europe and one of the staunch 
supporters of the republican cause in Mex- 
ico. At the time of his death he was di- 
rector of the National Library of the Repub- 
lic, which he organized along modern lines 
and made one of the greatest of its kind in 
the New World. He was several times, in 
revolutionary days, imprisoned for the out- 
spoken manner in which he expressed his 
political beliefs, and he suffered exile to the 
United States for the same cause. While 
there he published a revolutionary paper in 
San Francisco called the "Nuevo Mundo." 



He was editor of various journals in Mexico 
during the years previous to his becoming 
director of the National Library, and dur- 
ing all this time he was a factor of much 
importance in the politics of the country. 
At the time of his death he was engaged in 
writing a history of literature in Mexico, a 
task for which he was especially well fitted, 
for, as a literary critic, few ha\-e excelled 
him in Mexico. His poems have been col- 
lected into a large volume entitled Realities 
and Illusions, and his most noted dramas 
into another, Flowers of Aiiahuac. His best 
critical work is. Literary Inipressions_ of 
Lope de Vega; his best history is to be 
found in the monumental work, Mexico 
Throiighout the Centuries, of which it forms 
the fifth volume. 

Villa Manrique, Marquis de. See Man- 

RIQUE. 

Villalon, Agustin Ahumada y. See 

Ahumada y Villalon. 

Villena, Marquis of. See Cabrera y 

BOBADILLA. 

Vizarron y Eguiarreta {ve'sdr-ron'e 

ge-dr-rd'td), Juan Antonio de (1734-1740), 
37th viceroy of New Spain, was very char- 
itable and gave untiring attention to the 
Indians during the terrible plague which 
visited the country during his administra- 
tion and which carried oft", according to 
Father Alegre, two-thirds of the natives. 
N'ew missions were established in Texas, 
New Mexico and California and a determined 
effort made to convert the natives to Chris- 
tianity. The output of the mines continued 
to increase notably and new placer and 
other mineral deposits were discovered in 
northern Mexico and Arizona. Our Lady 
of Guadalupe was declared patron saint of 
the Mexican people. See Guadalupe. 

Volador {vol' d-thor) , The, popularly 
known as "The Thieves' Market," was, 
some years ago, the largest market in Mex- 
ico City, but is now degenerated into a 
place for the sale of anything that the 
merchant may care to buy and again dis- 
pose of. But on account of its history this 
place is of great interest. It originally was 
part of the ground belonging to the new 
palace of Moctezuma II. After the con- 
qviest it fell to the share of the conqueror, 
Cortes, in whose family it remained for 
over 200 years, when it became the prop- 
erty of the City of Mexico. For many years 
after the conquest it was the scene of 
popular bull fights and cock fights. It was 
called the "TWeves' Market'' because there, 
some years ago, many receivers of stolen 
goods carried on their trade. This accounts 
for the vast variety of articles that are 
there offered for sale. 



w 

Water Rat. See Ahuizotl. 



XICACA 



2291 



CACATECAS 



X 



Xicaca (he-ka'kd), the goddess of the 
waters (see Remedios). Near Cuatlenchan, 
Mexico, is the huge prostrate form of what 
is said to be the Goddess of the Waters. It 
is over 18 feet in length and measures 13 
feet in circumference. It is therefore noted 
as being the largest statue of prehistoric 
times known to exist in Mexico. 

XicotencatI {he'kon-tdn'kdtl), a young 
and very brave chief of the Tlaxcalans, who 
fought valiantly in defense of his country 
against the Spaniards under the conqueror, 
Herando Cortes. The Tlaxcalans were de- 
feated, but only after a desperate resistance 
and they became the allies of the Spaniards 
and their assistance contributed greatly to 
the downfall of the Aztec empire. 

Xochicalco {sd'che-kdl'kd),a,isiVcio\xs, ruin, 
probably of Aztec times, a short distance 
from Cuernavaca, Mexico. The remains 
cover the top of an extensive hill, which has 
been cut and terraced on a gigantic scale. 
On the top of this is the remains of a large 
building made of cut stone, literally covered 
over with hieroglyphics, among these being 
that of the water-rat, which would seem to 
indicate that this building had either been 



built or repaired during the reign of Ahuizotl. 
See Ahuizotl. 

Xochimilco (so-che-mel'kd), a lake and 
town in the Valley of Mexico, which have 
been the scenes of many stirring events. 
The town is cut through with waterways, 
and, as its inhabitants are principally In- 
dians, who still dress in a primitive manner, 
it presents a very interesting sight. During 
the early wars of the Mexicans with the 
neighboring nations and tribes, the Xochi- 
milcans were at first opposed to the Aztecs, 
but, being defeated, they became part of 
the Aztec confederacy, to which they ren- 
dered excellent service. 

Xolotl {so-ldtV), a half legendary, half- 
historical character who figures in early 
Mexican history. He was the leader of the 
Chichimecas in their wanderings from the 
fabled city of Amaquemecan to the town 
of Tula, Mexico. In mythology of the 
Nahuatls he is credited with having been 
the creator of woman. According to the 
same tradition he espoused the woman of 
his own creation, and they became the first 
parents of the Mexican race. 

/' 



Yermo (ydr'mo), Gabriel, a rich sugar 
planter who captured the viceregal palace 
in Mexico City, in iSoS seized the viceroy, 
Jose de Iturrigaray, and his family, put 
them in prison, and later shipped them back 
to Spain. This event is of importance be- 



cause it may be said to be the beginning o 
the revolution which ended in Mexico's 
securing _ her independence of Spanish rule. 

Yturbide. See Iturbide. 

Yucatan. See pp. 2126 and 1217. 



Zacatecas (sd'cd-td'kds) (see p. 2128), 
one of the greatest mining states of Mexico, 
bounded by Coahuila, San Luis Potosi, 
Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Durango and Tepic, 
has an area of 26,000 square miles and a 
population of 500,000. Chief industries, 
agriculture and mining. Principal cities. 



Zacatecas, the capital and chief mining and 
commercial center, Fresnillo, Pinos, Som- 
brerete and Ciudad Garcia. The climate 
ranges from temperate to cool. 

Zacatecas (sd'cd-td'kds) (the place where 
the zacate grows), the capital of the state 
of the same name, is situated in a narrow 



ZARAGOZA 



2292 



ZUNIGA 



canon, 8,100 feet above sea level. Owing 
to its height it is never excessively warm, 
and in winter it is quite cold. It is one of 
the most noted mining centers in the re- 
public, and one of the oldest silver dis- 
tricts. Surrounding the city are vast 
deposits of low-grade silver ore awaiting 
modern mining methods to make of this 
camp one of the most important in the 
world. The Panuco, Veta Grande and 
Zacatecas are three of the oldest and best 
known mines in this district. Even in early 
Spanish times Zacatecas was a center for 
the pottery manufacturing trade; and it 
still maintains this reputation. Being a 
great mining center, Zacatecas has a num- 
ber of important reduction works, most of 
them, howe\'er, of ancient models and proc- 
esses. The first discovery of sih-er in Zaca- 
tecas was made in 1546, and two 3'ears 
later the present city was founded. _ On 
account of the great richness of the mines, 
Zacatecas soon took rank with the foremost 
mining districts in New Spain, a position it 
continues to hold. Population 40,000. 

Zaragoza (sd'ra-gos'd), Antonio (1855- 
), lawyer, journalist and poet of the 
modern Romantic school. In Mexico he is 
classed with Peza, Rosas, Flores and Acuna. 
He has a fervid imagination and the power 
of making common subjects take upon 
themselves a strange beauty, which endears 
him to the Mexican people. Most of his 
literary work has appeared in various news- 
papers and literary jovirnals. , 

Zumarraga (sod-mdr'ni-gd'), Juan de, 
first bishop and first archbishop of Mexico. 
He arrived in Mexico in 1527, was elected 
bishop in 1530 and archbishop in 1545- He 
was noted for his religious zeal and his 



fanaticism which made him destroy all the 
manuscript of the Aztecs that he could get 
his hands on. Of these he made great piles 
and burned them on the public plaza of 
Mexico City. Thus perished the most valu- 
able records of the Aztec people, the means 
by which we would, in all probability, have 
been able to look more closely into their more 
remote history. 

Zuniga (sodn'ye-gd') y Acevedo, Gaspar 
de, Count of Monterey, gth viceroy of 
New Spain (1595-160;), adopted a very 
despotic attitude toward the Indians, forc- 
ing them, to live on lands in the country 
and prohibiting them to live together in 
towns or villages, as had been their custom, 
thus bringing them to the verge of revolu- 
tion and leaving a legacy of trouble to 
future viceroys. He sent exploring ex])edi- 
tions to California and New Mexico. Dur- 
ing his administration Monterey in Mexico 
and Monterey in California were founded 
and named after the viceroy. 

Zuniga, Alvaro Manrique de. See 
Manrique. 

Zuniga {sd5n'ye-gd) Guzman Sotomayor 
y Mendoza, Baltasar de, Duke of Arion 
and Marquis of Valero, ,35th viceroy of New 
Spain (1716-1722). During this adminis- 
tration a war broke out between France 
and Spain (17 19); the former took Pen- 
sacola and the Spanish fort in Texas, thus 
forcing the priests to retreat to Coahuila; 
but, on the withdrawal of the French, they 
again entered the country, taking up their 
headquarters at Espiritu Santo. Nicolas 
Camacho, an Indian from San Juan del Rio, 
attempted to assassinate the viceroy in the 
streets of the Capital, but was unsuccess- 
ful. 



FEB XV mQ 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 

^^ n mm 



